Kolkata: Kalighat Police has registered a criminal case and launched an investigation after television actor and dancer Sampriti Pramanik was allegedly heckled and dragged along a road by an app-cab driver near Basusree Cinema Hall on Tuesday evening. The actor sustained an injury during the attack.According to the complaint, Pramanik booked an app cab from NT1 Studio in Tollygunge around 7.30 pm. Trouble began when Pramanik modified her destination on the aggregator application due to sudden heavy rain, and the driver became hostile.“Last night after my shoot, I had some work in Park Street, so I booked a ride from NT One to Park Street. But after I got into the car, the person I was supposed to meet told me there was heavy rain in the north around 7.30 pm or 8 pm, so it wouldn’t be possible for them to come. So I immediately changed the destination in the app from Park Street to Dum Dum. At that point, the driver asked me in a certain tone, ‘Oh, so you changed it? You edited the trip?’” Pramanik posted on social media.Despite the fare automatically updating on the app from Rs 272 to Rs 434, the driver allegedly persistently refused to complete the trip, citing fuel shortage and dismissing the app’s internal customer support protocols. Sensing danger as the driver put on headphones and ignored her queries, Pramanik urged him to drop her off at the nearest metro station.The driver eventually pulled over near Kalighat Metro Station and demanded the full fare of Rs 434 intended for the Dum Dum destination. When Pramanik refused to pay the full fare for an incomplete trip and attempted to retrieve her belongings from the car, the driver abruptly accelerated.“As I bent down to grab the bags lying on the rear seat, he started driving at that exact moment. And he was driving fast. I cried, ‘Dada, I’ll die like this. Please stop, stop, stop’. In that condition, I was running along with the car. Instead, he suddenly swerved the car to the right… I managed to pull my bag out and got flung away but the right side of my face was turned, and my right shoulder slammed into a parked car,” Pramanik recounted.The driver sped off with several of her personal belongings — including her water bottle, coffee mug and gifts. Pramanik sustained injuries to her shoulder and face before being assisted by bystanders and colleagues from her TV network to record her statement at the police station.Based on her complaint, cops registered an FIR against the unidentified driver under Sections 125(a) (act endangering life or personal safety of others causing hurt), 281 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 303(2) (theft), 351(2) (criminal intimidation) and Section 62 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.Officers confirmed that efforts are underway to trace the driver and impound the vehicle with help from the cab aggregator company. Cops said the probe will investigate why the emergency dial on the app did not respond to her despite the victim sending an SOS to them.
