Chennai: An Uber autorickshaw driver allegedly sexually assaulted a college student in Chennai and fled leaving his vehicle behind after she raised an alarm. The incident occurred on Sunday night when the woman, Ishita Singh, was returning to a city hotel along with a friend.
Narrating the incident on Twitter, the woman said she had booked the Uber autorickshaw ride from a restaurant to a hotel in Semmancheri. As she and her friend stepped out of the auto on reaching the destination, the driver touched her inappropriately, she alleged.
“An Uber Auto driver named Selvam sexually assaulted me by pressing my right breast, near Ibis OMR Hotel, when my friend and I returned from East Coast Madras to the hotel,” she wrote, tagging Tamil Nadu Police.
I’m a student journalist at @ACJIndia, Chennai.
An @Uber Auto driver named Selvam ,sexually assaulted me by pressing my right breast, near Ibis OMR Hotel, when my friend and I returned from East Coast Madras to the hotel.@PoliceTamilnadupic.twitter.com/jJMhx4zk5j— Ishita Singh (@IshitaS05978134) September 25, 2022
In a subsequent tweet, she added that the driver fled from the spot after she raised an alarm. Following the incident, the woman claimed she dialled the police but “there was no response”.
The incident occurred while my friend was making the payment and I was stepping out of the auto. To fight back, I screamed.We also tried to stop him but somehow he managed to escape. I immediately called the police but there was no response. @mkstalin@vijaypnpa_ips
— Ishita Singh (@IshitaS05978134) September 25, 2022
After 30 minutes, a policeman reached the hotel with another man, she claimed, but there was no woman cop. “He asked us to wait till the morning to file an FIR as there was no lady officer at the station. “‘It’s an order by the government,” he said, when asked about the lady officer,” her tweet read.
“He was also not letting us go to the police station to file an offline FIR,” she said, adding that she was not allowed inside the police station when they reached there, as “women are not allowed (in police stations) during the night.”
He was also not letting us go to the police station to file an offline FIR. But we still managed to go to the Semmencherry Police Station, along with two hotel employees. Also, the station in charge did not let us enter the police station as women are NOT allowed during night.
— Ishita Singh (@IshitaS05978134) September 25, 2022
The woman also posted photos of the autorickshaw in which she and her friend were travelling along with the screengrabs of her Uber trip. She has also shared her ride transaction details and the name of the driver.
Replying to the Twitter thread, the Tambaram Police Commissionerate said a case has been registered and a search is on for the accused.
Case registered in Semmanchery Ps. We are searching for the auto driver
— TAMBARAM POLICE COMMISSIONERATE (@COPTBM) September 26, 2022
Uber India, taking cognizance of the incident, asked the woman to share the details of her ride.
Hey Ishita, this is concerning. Please share the registered details via Direct Message with which the trip was requested. We’ll follow up. https://t.co/1WqzzOmdKe
— Uber India Support (@UberINSupport) September 25, 2022
“Hey, this is concerning. Please share the registered details via direct message with which the trip was requested. We’ll follow up,” the reply read.
