Mumbai woman jumps off autorickshaw after driver heads to secluded area, behaves obscenely

A 21-year-old Mumbai woman was forced to jump off a moving autorickshaw after the driver allegedly behaved obscenely and turned to a secluded area instead of taking her to her destination, police said on Saturday.

The woman sustained head injuries after jumping off the running vehicle while the autorickshaw driver was arrested from Mulund, police said. 

The woman said she had boarded the autorickshaw on Thursday night and had asked to be ferried to Panchratna area of the north-eastern suburb, said the Mulund police station official.

"However, the rickshaw driver who was constantly staring at her through the rear-view mirror told her she will have to go where he wanted to go and not to where she had asked. He then took the vehicle in the wrong direction," he said.

"The woman panicked and jumped out of the running vehicle near Mulund Darshan building, hitting her head against a speed-breaker on the road. Passers-by took the woman to a hospital, where she is recuperating, while the rickshaw driver sped off," he added.

Police registered a complaint against the unidentified autorickshaw driver under section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of IPC and began the investigation. 

On scanning the CCTV footage in the area, Mulund police began was able to trace the number plate of the autorickshaw. The 35-year-old driver was arrested on Friday, police said.

(With PTI inputs)