Caught on camera: Auto drivers force women to take rides at hefty fares

It is often a rough ride for passengers alighting at the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus as men dressed in civil clothes on platforms entice them into taking an autotaxi at exorbitant rates The loot was demonstrated by members of the Bombay Catholic Sabha on Thursday as they volunteered to pose as commuters at LTT and bring the scam to lightThe act was planned after a senior citizen from Vikhroli was recently fleeced by a man posing as a coolie at LTT and forced her to take an auto that charged her a bombThe autowallas coerce commuters right at the platform forcing their luggage into vehiclesMembers of BCS sent four women to pose as commuters at LTT on Thursday morning but before they could reach the terminus exit men dressed in civil clothes accosted them by offering them a ride home This was despite more than 500 auto drivers being fined by the traffic police in the eastern suburbs including LTT for violating traffic norms in the last two daysAccording to locals these auto drivers operate around the terminus from midnight to early morning when there are no policemen aroundMario Rodrigueschairperson BCS Vikhroli said that these men were not wearing any uniform or their mandatory badges Also they ventured inside the station without any platform tickets and there was no GRPor RPF personnel manning the platform either she addedMembers of the BCS posed as commuters at LTT on ThursdayAll the BCS members Gretta Saldanha 64 Anna Ambrose 49 Rinha DSouza 57 and Philo Lobo 71 were stopped by these men who demanded heavy amounts to drop them home He asked me for Rs 400 to drop me to Mulund and I agreed on R350 after he kept following me It is very risky for women who come to the city for the first time said AmbroseThe BCS drive was a result of retired teacher Cecilia DCosta being fleeced at LTT Having arrived from Mangalore on January 19 around 640 am at LTT DCosta was followed by a man in civil clothes posing as a porter He picked her bag and took her to an auto parked outside the stationPassengers arriving late at night or early in the morning are their usual targets as there are usually no policemen around at that time allege locals PicsPradeep DhivarHe charged me Rs 150 for carrying the luggage and another Rs 100 to drop me to an auto stand from where the auto driver took Rs 200 to drop me to Vikhroli said DCosta The incident scared me as I was helpless and there was nobody I could have approached I am a frequenttravellerbut have never seen any police here This time I approached BCS she addedIn 2014 too BCS members hadorganiseda morcha after Hyderabadbased techie EstherAnuhyawho had arrived at LTT was raped and murdered by a man posing as an auto driverPolice promise strict actionWhile senior inspector of Kurla GRP M Inamdar said that the traffic management at LTT station premises falls under the Mumbai polices traffic division he added that it would be difficult to spot these people in civil clothes during our patrolling across platformsA K Shrivastava Principal Chief Security Commissioner of Central Railway however said We will take strict action against such people We have deployed our staff here round the clock We used to book 25 to 30 people every day including drivers without uniforms badges refusing fares overcharging passengers and more If people are still breaking laws at LTT we will take stringent action against them assured senior police inspector Balkrishna Mane of Chembur Division TrafficCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates