A file photograph of a motorcycle taxi rider ready for his buyer. The girl, alongside with her authorized crew, is considering submitting a PIL in opposition to Rapido and different bike taxis in connection with prevention of sexual harassment guidelines, and compliances.
| Photo Credit: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar
Around two months after a girl needed to soar off a motorcycle taxi on being allegedly sexually harassed by the driving force, the girl has lodged a criticism with Karnataka State Commission for Women (KSCW) and National Commission for Women (NCW) in opposition to Rapido, the aggregator with which the taxi was affiliated.
She took the step after she allegedly ‘did not receive any acknowledgement or communication from Rapido with regard to a legal notice issued to them’.
Rapido has denied the allegation.
The authorized discover issued by the girl’s authorized crew has introduced forth a number of new revelations, together with the declare that regardless of a deviation within the route by the bike taxi on the night time of April 21, no SOS name was made by the corporate till about half-hour after the alleged incident. It has additionally been alleged that there was no response from Rapido to a tweet despatched out by the girl’s pal looking for assist, through which the corporate was additionally tagged. There was allegedly no response from Rapido till after the problem was settled, regardless of different aggregator corporations responding instantly.
“We must bring to your attention another deeply disturbing issue… that my client has been unable to access the ride details from the night of April 21, 2023. Shockingly, we possess an explicit email from your company stating that no rides were booked on that particular night. This raises suspicions that you may be attempting to evade responsibility by deliberately erasing evidence of platform usage prior to the incident. However, it is crucial to note that you have explicitly admitted, on multiple occasions, that the incident of sexual harassment and abduction occurred on your platform’s bike taxi,” mentioned Shrreyans Mehta, advocate, within the authorized discover.
He instructed The Hindu that Rapido has not been adhering to many guidelines and laws, which aggregator corporations should observe, together with background checks and establishing management rooms for monitoring their companies, regardless of a number of such incidents. “Their lack of acknowledgment to the legal notice shows their absolute disregard for the victim. We want a public apology from Rapido, and an assurance that they will properly adhere to the legal rules.”
The girl, alongside with her authorized crew, is considering submitting a PIL in opposition to Rapido and different bike taxis in connection with prevention of sexual harassment guidelines, and compliances.
When The Hindu contacted Rapido for a response, representatives of the corporate mentioned {that a} authorized discover was despatched in reply to the communication from the authorized crew of the girl. “At the outset, our client denies all allegations, contentions and averments made on behalf of your client in your notice insofar as they concern our client, and are therefore, denied,” the discover said.
