Kurla-BKC ride

Auto driver gets taste of his own medicine 01:41

Nitin Nandgaonkar

MNS functionary Akhil Chitre

Maulana gets life for raping 10-year-old 50-year-old convicted despite girl, sister and father retracting statements.

Auto driver asks for Rs 10 more than the usual Rs 20 fare for the, gets beaten up later.The menace of errant autorickshaw drivers asking for more than the metered fare recently took a violent turn. The driver of a share autorickshaw on Tuesday slapped and shoved a passenger around after the latter refused to pay up more.In a video that has been widely shared on social media, the driver, Vinod Kumar Lalji Rai, dropped off an unidentified passenger from Kurla to Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) and demanded Rs 30 for the ride. The usual fare is Rs 20.The passenger refused and an argument ensued. Rai then slapped him, pushed him around and tried to force him back into the vehicle. No one intervened as the assault unfolded. Shaken by the attack, the passenger finally paid the extra cash.For Rai, the blowback to the assault was immediate. After the video went viral,of the MNS’s transport wing andtracked him down to give him what the two called an “MNS-style lesson”. “I saw the video on WhatsApp. We approached the Bandra police, but they refused to act on it. So, we decided to track him down on our own,” said Chitre.After questioning local autorickshaw drivers, they caught hold of Rai and slapped him multiple times. “We have warned all autorickshaw drivers that if they abuse passengers, they will face MNS-style action,” said Chitre.Asked what authorised them to take the law into their hands, he said, “We had to do this because the police were not taking any action. The passenger was abused and beaten up,” he said as a justification.Anil Kumbhare, deputy commissioner of police (zone VIII), said no action was taken against the driver as the complainant had not come forward. He, however, assured that legal action will now be initiated. Police sources said Rai driver was being questioned by the BKC police till late Thursday night.Transport Minister Diwakar Raote has recommended suspension of his licence and registration of a police case.Transport Commissioner Shekar Channe said notices have been sent to Rai as well as the autorickshaw owner. “Strict action will be taken against both of them.”Mirror has in a series of reports highlighted the growing menace of autorickshaw drivers overcharging passengers for short distances, especially during peak hours, demanding as much as Rs 100 extra for rides from BKC to Kurla. The situation isn’t much different outside Andheri station, where passengers are forced to wait for 15-30 minutes to even find a driver who’s ready to go by the metered fare. Despite a crackdown by the Regional Transport Office following Mirror’s reports, the issue persists.