Pune Darshan and Rs 900 for Rs 35 auto journey

Two visitors from Mumbai say rickshaw driver took Rs 900 from them by force, cops refused to file case

An Autorickshaw ride from Pune Municipal Corporation to Pune Railway Station should not cost more than Rs 35, but Mumbai-based floor-work labourers Sanjay Singh and Mohammad Javed Shaikh said they were forcibly made to part with Rs 900 for it yesterday afternoon. What was worse, the police did not take down their complaint, and instead directed them to the Rickshaw Panchayat for redressal of their grievance.

Rounds of town
In the city on work, Singh and Shaikh wanted to catch the Deccan Queen from the Pune railway station for their return journey to Mumbai.

At the corporation, they hailed an autorickshaw with registration number MH 12-DT-4526, but the driver
took them to Chinchwad station instead of Pune railway station.

The driver next took them to Shivajinagar station. Finally, he took them to Pune Railway Station.

Night charge by day
Singh said the driver said the meter charge was Rs 600 and that they would also have to pay Rs 300 by way of 'half-return', which autorickshaw drivers may charge only at night.

Singh said when they refused to pay Rs 900, the driver forcefully took the money from their pockets and threatened them with dire consequences if they complained against him.

According to Singh, the auto driver said, "Pune mein 8 stations hai, tumne nahi bola kaunsa station jana tha,
toh maine saare station ghooma diya."

Singh said, "We had heard about the dadagiri of auto drivers in Pune, but this was the first time that we experienced it."

Insult to injury
After they were relieved of their cash, the two went to the Bund Garden police station to register a complaint, but Singh said they were made to wait for two hours, at the end of which the police refused to register their complaint.

"We were upset that an auto driver had forcefully taken so much of money from us, but when the police refused to register any complaint, we were aghast," said Singh. "They asked us to meet officials of the Rickshaw Panchayat at Bhawani Peth. They said if we pleaded with the officials, they might help us get our
money back."