A Bengaluru woman narrowly avoided an extortion and potentially dangerous encounter after she mistakenly boarded an unassigned cab at Kempegowda International Airport.
In a post on X, she recounted the harrowing ordeal, detailing how the driver impersonated her official Ola booking before demanding extra money.
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“Almost got trafficked/raped/looted/assaulted by a random cab driver who was let in by @BLRAirportb in the Ola pickup station & impersonated to be one at terminal 1 of BLR airport,” she wrote on X.
According to the victim’s letter addressed to police, arriving at the airport’s Ola pickup station around 10.30 pm, she was approached by a man, later identified as Basavaraj, who claimed to be her cab driver. She was initially skeptical as she had booked a different car model through the Ola app, but Basavaraj insisted on taking her to her destination.
Once inside, the driver bypassed the app’s verification process, failing to request the mandatory OTP and claiming his app was malfunctioning. He then asked her to input her destination on his phone’s navigation app. The woman quickly became uneasy when Basavaraj demanded a higher fare, claiming it was justified for his “luxury sedan.”
Despite her repeated requests to return to the pickup point, the driver continued driving, eventually stopping at a petrol station, where he demanded ₹500 for fuel.
Remaining calm, she called 112 and stayed on the line with both police and a family member. Police promptly arrived at the pickup station within 20 minutes, apprehending the driver. The woman noted that, had she not called 112, the situation could have escalated.
The incident has raised concerns over airport security and passenger safety in official cab pickup areas, with the woman urging others to stay vigilant. “I hope you understand you’re not safe travelling alone even in one of the safest cities in the country that too taking an airport cab; my fault? Just wanting to reach home ASAP without having doubts on the cab driver’s intentions. SAVDHAN RAHEIN, SATARK RAHEIN,” she wrote.
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