I ignored my gut feeling during a Rapido ride made a big mistake.
I genuinely don’t think I’m going to forget tonight for a long time.
I’m from Bangalore and currently doing my internship, and since I had some free time today I decided to visit Golconda Fort. The day was honestly great. Explored the fort, saw the light show, later had good food, took some pictures, everything felt peaceful for once.
Then the night happened and the whole mood got destroyed.
Around 8:30 PM I was waiting for a bus back. I waited till almost 9 but the bus never showed up. I was tired, alone, and just wanted to get back to my PG quickly, so I booked a Rapido bike.
The rider arrived and I’m not even going to lie, something about him immediately felt weird. Nothing specific, just one of those instincts where your brain quietly tells you “this person feels off.” But because it was late and there weren’t many people around, I ignored it and got on the bike anyway.
Almost immediately after I sat on the bike, he cancelled the ride on the app and told me he’d still drop me. And honestly, this is pretty common in India. A lot of riders do it to avoid paying commission to Rapido and just take the full fare directly, so at that moment I didn’t think too much about it.
Looking back now, agreeing to continue the ride after he cancelled it was probably my biggest mistake.
Around 2 minutes later he stopped at a petrol bunk and suddenly asked me to pay for petrol.
I actually thought he was joking at first.
I told him, “Why would I pay for petrol? I’ll pay the ride amount.”
The fare on the app was around ₹50. He suddenly says I have to pay ₹75. I showed him the app. He kept arguing and insisting it was ₹75.
That’s when I got uncomfortable for real.
I told him, “Fine then, leave it. You already cancelled the ride anyway. I’ll just go by myself.”
I got down and walked away. I badly needed to pee, so I went into a nearby public washroom for literally a minute.
And this is where everything became genuinely terrifying.
The moment I walked out, I saw him running toward me.
Not walking. Running.
And while running he was reaching into his pocket for something.
Bro I cannot even explain the kind of fear that hit me in that second. My brain immediately assumed the worst and I just ran without thinking.
Full sprint.
This guy starts screaming “CHOR CHOR” behind me and because of that some random passerby grabbed me for a second. I was panicking and trying to explain that the Rapido guy was the one harassing me and trying to extort money from me.
Thankfully the guy let go and I ran again.
At this point my heart was beating so hard I could literally hear it. I kept looking behind every few seconds thinking he was going to catch up.
I reached a crowded area and thought okay, maybe it’s over now.
Nope.
A few minutes later I spot him AGAIN.
I don’t know how he found me but the second I saw him coming in my direction again I genuinely felt my stomach drop. I hid behind an auto, waited for him to move ahead, then quietly slipped away from the other side and almost speed-walked into a nearby hospital.
I sat there for around 20 minutes pretending to scroll on my phone while trying to calm myself down. My hands were literally shaking.
After I was sure he wasn’t nearby anymore, I booked an auto and somehow got back safely to my PG.
The scary part is after coming back and replaying everything in my head, I realized how dangerous this could’ve become if things went slightly differently. Maybe I’m overthinking now because of adrenaline, but in that moment I genuinely felt unsafe.
I called Rapido support after reaching back and reported the entire thing. They said they would block him from the platform. But then another thought hit me — this guy knows where I stay. If he suddenly gets suspended right after this incident, it’s not exactly hard for him to guess who reported him.
So now I’m stuck between wanting to report him properly and not wanting this psycho to know it was me. Now I'm sitting here paranoid as hell. What should I do? Should I file a police report? Change my route? I'm genuinely scared this guy might come looking for revenge. Has anyone else experienced something like this with ride-sharing apps?
I swear, one small decision can completely change how your night goes.
And please, if a rider ever cancels the trip and tells you to continue the ride offline, just get down immediately. Don’t ignore your instincts because you’re tired or trying to avoid inconvenience.
TL;DR: Rapido driver took me to a petrol pump mid-ride, demanded I pay for his petrol, I refused, he chased me through the streets yelling "CHOR," and now I'm scared he'll come after me since he knows my location.