Ahead of I-Day: Bike rider attempts to murder airhostess in Lutyens’ Delhi

NEW DELHI: In a shocking incident in New Delhi’s Chanakyapuri area, an InDrive app bike driver allegedly attempted to sexually assault and murder an airhostess before being thwarted by an elderly couple who intervened just in time.

The incident took place near Buddha Jayanti Park in the highly secure Lutyens Zone, with the city on high alert ahead of Independence Day. The victim, a young airhostess residing in South Delhi, had been returning home from a shopping trip in East Delhi. She booked a bike ride through the Indrive app around 11:47 pm, which was accepted by a driver named Jaideep.

The ride soon turned nightmarish as the driver began making unusual demands and took a suspicious detour, despite the victim’s objections.

According to the victim’s account to the police, the driver initially tried to make her feel at ease by engaging in conversation and handing over his two phones, supposedly to help navigate.

However, after a short while, he took the phones back, closed the map, and intentionally went off course. When the victim questioned him, he claimed it was a shortcut but soon stopped the bike in a secluded area.

The situation escalated quickly as the driver assaulted the airhostess, attempting to strangle her while boasting about previous attacks on other female passengers.

The victim’s desperate attempts to signal for help went unanswered until an elderly couple driving by noticed the scene. Their intervention caused the assailant to flee, abandoning his helmet at the scene. The couple stayed with the shaken victim and safely escorted her to a nearby metro station, waiting until her friend arrived. The victim’s friend’s mother contacted the police, leading to the filing of an FIR under multiple sections of the law. The police promptly tracked down and arrested the suspect, Jaideep, who was found to have a history of sexual assault.

The police are now investigating the full extent of his crimes, including any additional victims who may have suffered similar attacks.