Mumbai News: Special POCSO Court Denies Bail To 23-Year-Old Uber Driver Accused Of Sexually Harassing Minor During Ride From Dadar To Powai

Mumbai: A special POCSO court has refused to grant bail to 23-year-old Uber driver from Vikhroli in the case of sexually harassing a minor girl, who had hailed a ride to reach home after her class in May.

As per the case lodged by the victim's father with the Dadar police, on May 13, he had booked a cab to pick his daughter from Dadar and drop at their residence in Powai. The vehicle's description on the app did not match with the cab that came for pick up, alleged the father.

At 5.20pm, the minor called her father complaining about the driver, said the prosecution, adding that the accused took her to the Eastern Express Highway, which was not on her route.

The girl claimed that he played loud Bhojpuri and Punjabi music, while ignoring her repeated pleas to stop. The victim further alleged that the driver offered her to smoke and also tried to touch her on the pretext of taking her phone. She added that he kept staring at her from the mirror.

The father said that he tried to speak to the driver by directing his daughter to keep the phone on speaker, however, he allegedly refused to respond and snatched the phone from the victim. The father then pressed the safety icon on the app and also dialled 100 for the police help, after which the girl's ordeal ended.

The accused claimed that he was falsely implicated. Rejecting his argument, the courtpointed out, “Both of them were not acquainted with each other prior to the alleged incident. Therefore, the submission made by the defence lawyer that the accused has been falsely implicated is not acceptable.”