THANE, Dec. 15 -- A 19-year-old Rapido bike rider was arrested for allegedly molesting a woman passenger and attempting to rob her by threatening her with a knife on Saturday evening. The accused, identified as Siddhesh Pardeshi, a resident of Khadakpada in Kalyan, was first caught by the residents after hearing the woman passenger's screams for help. He was then handed over to the police. According to the police, the woman had booked a Rapido ride around 7pm from Sampada Hospital in Kalyan West to her gym near Kalyan railway station. The booking was accepted by Pardeshi, who arrived at the pick-up point on a Suzuki Access scooter. A few minutes into the ride, the woman noticed that the rider had deviated from the designated route and was heading towards the Police Residential Colony near Syndicate, a relatively secluded area. After sensing something was not right, she questioned the route change and jumped off the moving scooter to escape. Police said the accused then allegedly assaulted the woman, attempted to snatch her necklace and threw sand in her face to disorient her. As she shouted for help, he allegedly molested her and forcibly took Rs.1,000 cash from her purse while threatening her with a knife to silence her. Hearing her cries, residents in the area rushed to the spot, overpowered the accused and thrashed him before alerting the police. Officers arrived shortly after and took Pardeshi into custody. Speaking to HT, Baliram Pardeshi, senior police inspector of Mahatma Phule police station, said the accused is a Class VII dropout who had recently joined Rapido as a rider. "The accused had a premeditated intent to commit offences such as robbery and molestation under the guise of providing transport services. Timely intervention by local residents prevented a more serious outcome," he said. The accused has been booked for robbery and assault on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty of the BNS and has been remanded to police custody till December 18. Following the incident, police have advised commuters to exercise caution while using app-based two-wheeler and auto-rickshaw services. Officials warned that several unverified and unlicensed vehicles are operating in the Kalyan area, targeting vulnerable passengers, particularly women and children. Rapido officials did not respond to HT's request for comment on the incident....