Actor recounts 2012 kidnap attempt: Auto driver’s aide lunged for my throat, hit me

MUMBAI: The Delhi cab rape case has brought back unpleasant memories for a Mumbai-based woman who was assaulted in a running autorickshaw she had boarded outside Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) in November 2012.
Neelam Singh, an actor, says commuting in the city after dark remains as unsafe today as it was two years ago. Having been turned away by operators manning the number ‘100’ then, Singh said the emergency helpline system needs a complete overhaul.
Singh was returning from a trip to Jhansi, her hometown around 4am, when the incident took place. She managed to find an auto outside LTT and got in with her bags. Though she was not well-versed with the roads, Singh soon realized the driver had taken a wrong turn. When she pointed out signs on the road to the driver, he asked Singh to trust him. The auto passed by a creek on Ghodbunder Road when Singh decided to dial a friend and ask for directions.
The moment she began to punch keys on her phone, the auto driver’s associate, who was seated next to him all along, lunged for her throat. Singh slumped down on the floor of the auto with her foot jutting out. The driver's associate then climbed into the back seat, slapped her and covered her mouth with his hands. He pulled Singh by the hair when she tried to fight back. A group of fishermen passing by in a jeep sensed something amiss. The auto driver, though, pretended that Singh was a patient and he was ferrying her to the hospital. He slowed down the vehicle at which Singh jumped out with her bags. The fishermen took her to the railway station in their vehicle, while the accused fled.
“The police had arrested the two accused but I was never informed about the progress of the case thereafter. I made a trip to Tilak Nagar police station once, but in vain. The mother and daughter of one of the accused managed to track down my address and visited me to plead for forgiveness. I told them that they should understand my ordeal as they too were women,” Singh said. She has had nightmares of being kidnapped by the men.
“My co-workers and I have to travel at odd hours for shoots so there’s no way I can avoid getting into an auto again. But horror stories continue to pour in. One of my co-workers was abandoned in the middle of the street by an auto driver after he snatched her cash. My sister had encountered a drunk auto driver who kept staring at her in the rearview mirror and even refused to accept the fare while she was getting off. The authorities need to take stringent steps to verify antecedents of cabbies and auto drivers before granting them a permit to drive,” Singh added.