'Fake road rage' extortion cases on the rise in B'luru

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Yet another instance of a ‘staged road rage ’ scam was posted on the social media platform, X, previously twitter, by a techie here.

Srijan R Shetty, a resident of Bengaluru, in his post, alleged that his wife was driving in the Sarjapur area with four of her colleagues when a group of men began chasing her car.

"I've seen those horrific videos of fake accidents in Sarjapur where hooligans have tried to blackmail people in the car," wrote Shetty, acknowledging that as a Kannada-speaking male in the city, he never felt unsafe until this happened with his wife.

Shetty said his wife’s car was chased by a group of men for a few kilometres until she stopped on the main road.

The men then surrounded the car and demanded that she step out, alleging that their tempo traveller was damaged during the chase.

He alleged that a few tempo travellers hit her car from the rear end after which the drivers joined the men in trying to force Shetty’s wife out of the car, which she refused to do.

Moreover, the men began to pressurise the car occupants who could not speak Kannada. He also wrote that none of the bystanders came to the aid of the three women and a man in the car.

"If it wouldn't have been for her wits of calling the cops and then calling us and 10 of her friends to immediately join her at her location, the incident could have taken a different turn,” he said.

Srijan also pointed out Sarjapur as a recurring hotspot for such incidents, and urged the Bengaluru police to immediately step up security around the area.

The city police said that they have taken note of the incident and are probing the matter.