Two arrested for raping woman in shared cab in Thane

Mumbai: Two people have been arrested in connection with the alleged rape of a woman in a cab on December 19.

Condemning the incident, Ola said that the incident did not take place on their platform. However, they assured that they have extended all support to the authorities. "He was not logged on our platform from around three-four days before the incident," an Ola spokesperson said.  

The cab driver and his aide allegedly raped the woman while she was travelling from Kashimira to Thane near here on the night of December 19. The accused have been identified as 32-year-old Suresh Pandurang Gosavi, formerly employed with app-based cab service Ola, and 31-year-old Umesh Jaswant Zala.

The duo was produced in a court and remanded into police custody till December 26, they said.

Gosavi had been off duty for over a week, but the car still had a sticker of the app-based service, police said.

According to the complainant, she boarded Gosavi's cab on the evening of December 19 to travel to Thane from the Kashimira area.

However, Gosavi drove to Vajreshwari where he allegedly robbed her of money, mobile and purse, and then raped her in the car at an isolated spot. His friend, who was also sitting in the cab, allegedly helped him, police said.

Later they took her to a lodge where the woman narrated her ordeal to the lodge manager.

When the manager questioned the duo, they fled the spot, police said.

Following woman's complaint, Gosavi and his friend were arrested.