In the video, the woman was seen hitting the man.
- A Rapido bike taxi rider was detained in Bengaluru after slapping a woman passenger
- CCTV footage shows the woman hitting the rider first, contradicting initial perceptions
- The rider claims he acted in self-defense after the woman allegedly abused and assaulted him
A Rapido bike taxi rider was detained, and a police case filed against him after he was seen on camera slapping a woman passenger following an argument between the two over alleged rash driving in Bengaluru on Friday. However, a new CCTV clip has emerged which shows the woman hitting him first, as claimed by the rider, Suman S, earlier.
In the video, with a timestamp of 9.38 am, the woman was seen hitting the man on his bike repeatedly. The man then got off his bike and continued to argue with the woman. She was seen hitting him again. In another frame, she could be seen talking to the bystanders.
The earlier video appears to be an extension of the scene established by the CCTV video, where Suman S was seen slapping the woman. The impact of the assault was such that she fell to the ground.
Rider's Defence
After the video went viral, Suman S defended his action, alleging the woman had hit him first. "She hit me twice with a tiffin box, that's when I hit her back," he said, alleging the woman also abused him and grabbed him by his collar. "She abused me and asked if I was educated or not... She continued to be rude to me... I asked her about the payment, but she kept abusing me. She grabbed my collar," he said.
He, however, admitted that he had asked the woman to "go back to your country".
In the viral video, the woman was seen speaking in English while the man spoke in Kannada.
"He Should Not Have Attacked Me"
The woman claimed the rider was not following the traffic rules. "Firstly, he was not following the traffic rules. Secondly, he should not have attacked me. I made the payment and gave him the helmet back," she said.
Asked about the man's "go back to your country" remark, she said, "These Kannadigas have a language issue. I did not want to fight. (People from) many states come and live here. They want us to either learn their language or get out of the state. But instead of using the word 'state', he used 'country'."
She also said Rapido's customer care apologised to her and that she was informed that the man was "removed from employment".
The woman initially refused to file a complaint. The police filed a Non-Cognizable Report (NCR) in the matter. Later, a notice was sent to her to lodge a complaint, so that a First Information Report or FIR can be registered.
Based on the complaint, a case was registered against the accused taxi rider on Monday unser sections 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provole breach of peace) and 115 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
