• Source:JND
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Mumbai News: The Mumbai Police have filed an FIR against the directors of Roppen Transportation Services Private Limited, the company that runs the Rapido app, for allegedly offering illegal bike taxi services in the city. This is the second time the bike taxi aggregator has come under legal scrutiny, with a similar case already registered last month at Azad Maidan police station.

The latest action was taken after officers from six Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in Mumbai booked rides through the Rapido app to verify if the service was still being offered without the required permits. Upon confirmation, a complaint was lodged by Harshal Sose, an inspector at the Mumbai West RTO in Andheri. Based on his statement, Amboli police registered a case against the directors, as reported by News 18 report

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The FIR includes charges under sections 223 (disobedience to lawful orders) and 318 (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with relevant provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act.

Earlier, Maharashtra’s transport commissioner, Vivek Bhimanwar, had instructed all RTOs in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region to take strict action against illegal bike taxi services. This came after multiple complaints that companies such as Rapido, Ola, and Uber were continuing to operate without following the legal requirements.

According to the revised state policy, only electric two-wheelers with yellow commercial number plates and proper licences are allowed to run as bike taxis. These rules were introduced to improve safety and prevent the use of private vehicles for commercial purposes.

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Despite these conditions, officials say Rapido continued to operate its services without making the necessary changes. The company had been issued a notice on 29 April, asking it to immediately stop its operations. However, it allegedly did not respond or act on the order.

To confirm non-compliance, senior transport officials directed RTO officers to conduct surprise checks by booking rides through the app. On July 16, six officers from the Andheri RTO booked rides and confirmed that Rapido was still active in violation of the law. This led to the filing of the second FIR.