Delhi's First Female Auto Driver Assaulted By Male Colleague

In a road rage incident near Qutub Minar, Sunita Choudhary, aged 43, the first female autorickshaw driver in Delhi was reportedly injured after being subjected to an attack involving stones and bricks, resulting in damage to her vehicle. The identity of the accused remains unknown.

The incident occurred on the intervening night of September 24 and 25 as Sunita was carrying two passengers from Munirka to Mehrauli. She recounted that another auto-rickshaw driver approached her at high speed, and their vehicles accidentally made contact.

After passing Qutub Minar, near the Bhool Bhulaiya point the accused hit Sunita's auto. He then argued with her about space. Before she could comprehend what was happening, he left his auto and pursued her, using abusive language and threatening her with harm. Sunita was taken aback, and the passengers also fled. She attempted to flee, but he caught up with her, threw stones, and pushed her, causing injuries to others who tried to intervene.

Sunita asserted that she had placed approximately 50 calls to the PCR (Police Control Room) and the police between 12:30 am and 1 am the same night but claimed that nobody came to her assistance.

However, the police disputed Sunita's allegations, stating that their personnel responded within minutes of the PCR call. They further mentioned that Sunita was taken to the police station to file a complaint. 

In contrast, Sunita alleged that she was not accompanied to the police station or the hospital.

Sunita's Another Encounter With Law

In 2019, while returning home from her village in Meerut to Delhi, Sunita was robbed of Rs 30,000 by another auto driver. 

She boarded an auto with another two passengers in the backseat at Mohan Nagar. She requested the driver to take her to Anand Vihar, and they agreed upon a fare of Rs 20. She was then asked to come in the front when she left her bag behind. The auto suddenly came to a halt near Vasundhara, with the driver claiming an engine problem.

She also got out of the auto to offer assistance. After some time, one of the passengers gave her a bag and suggested she find another autorickshaw instead. She stood on the roadside, searching for another auto. Eventually, the driver managed to restart the autorickshaw and abruptly drove away without instructing her to board.

Upon looking inside her bag, she discovered that the packet containing Rs 30,000 in cash was missing. She attempted to pursue them, with the assistance of another passing vehicle that stopped to help her, but the culprits had fled through the side streets.

Who Is Sunita Choudhary?

Sunita came to Delhi in 2016. The auto driver who had only studied till class 10 has been driving an auto for the last 19 years. She initially took a 15-day driving course in Ghaziabad.

Sunita had quite a struggle for a commercial license. She was even called a 'mad woman.' 

Suggested Reading: Jessica Hawkins Becomes First Woman To Test F1 Car In Five Years