Chitrita Dutta and auto driver Kartik Pradhan. Pictures by Bishwarup Dutta and Sanat Kumar Sinha

Chitrita Dutta, an M.Sc student, was slapped by an autorickshaw driver after she protested the “unnecessary delay” en route to Tollygunge Metro station from Behala on Thursday. The other passengers in the vehicle were mute spectators to the drama.

The driver, Kartik Pradhan, has been arrested and the auto impounded.

Chitrita, who studies microbiology at Calcutta University, left her Raja Rammohun Roy Road residence in the morning to meet a gastroenterology professor at SSKM Hospital.

“I got onto the auto at Dharapara. I was in a hurry, but the driver was delaying things unnecessarily. When we reached Karunamoyee bridge, the driver wasted several minutes talking to a woman who had just got off,” Chitrita recalled.

She told the driver that she would miss the train from Tollygunge, but he did not bother to budge. “On reaching Tollygunge, I told him that I was late because of him. But the driver picked a quarrel with me and then suddenly slapped me. My glasses fell to the ground. The others passengers did not protest,” said Chitrita.

She took down the number of the auto and approached a traffic cop, who directed her to Regent Park police station. “I called my mother, who arrived soon. We went to the police station and lodged a complaint.”

Praveen Kumar, the superintendent of police (South 24-Parganas), said: “We will soon sit with auto drivers and their unions to ensure that such incidents do not recur.”