Diverted Route, Used 'Nature's Call' Pretext: Office Cab Driver Allegedly Rapes Cabin Crew In Hyderabad

Last Updated:July 23, 2026, 10:53 IST

The incident took place on July 20 at around 2.40 pm when the woman boarded an airline-arranged cab from Shamshabad to reach the airport.

A 23-year-old cab driver has been arrested for allegedly raping a 37-year-old cabin crew member of a private airline after diverting the vehicle to a secluded location while she was travelling to Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) for duty, police said.

The incident took place on July 20 at around 2.40 pm when the woman boarded an airline-arranged cab from Shamshabad to reach the airport. According to police, the driver did not follow the assigned route and instead took the vehicle towards an isolated area near an under-construction site close to the airport.

Police said the accused got out of the vehicle on the pretext of answering nature’s call before returning and allegedly committing the crime inside the car.

“After getting out of the vehicle, he returned within two to three minutes, entered through the rear door and raped the woman inside the car," Shamshabad ACP V Sreekanth Goud said in a statement.

The ACP said the woman resisted the assault and managed to push the accused away. She then opened the car door and ran out while seeking help from a nearby worker.

“Seeing this, the cab driver fled the spot in the vehicle," the ACP said.

The survivor approached the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Police Outpost soon after the incident and filed a complaint. Based on her statement, police registered a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including charges of rape and assault, and began an investigation.

The accused, identified as Errapogu Prashanth Kumar, a resident of Telangana’s Rangareddy district, was arrested on July 21, a day after the incident. Police said he confessed to the crime during interrogation.

After a medical examination, the accused was produced before a local court, which sent him to judicial custody.

Investigators said the cab service was run by a local transport agency hired by the airline to provide transportation for its employees to and from the airport.

Following the incident, police said they have asked the airline to review safety measures for employee transportation, especially for women staff travelling to and from the airport.

The airline is cooperating with the investigation and providing all necessary support to the affected employee, police said. Further investigation into the case is underway.

(With inputs from agencies)

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