This is a true incident that took place in a Mumbai suburb named Vasai.

Outside every railway station in Mumbai, there are always a bunch of autorickshaw (a small local taxi-like vehicle) drivers waiting for the arriving passengers.

Once at around 02:00 am, an autorickshaw driver was woken up by a couple who wanted to go to a place which was about 4 kms from the railway station. The driver readily took them in his autorickshaw and started off. Now, to start an autorickshaw, a handle is provided, which has to be pulled while bending forwards. When the autorickshaw covered a distance of about 2 kms, the rickshaw had some minor problems which were rectified in about five minutes. When the driver bent forward to get to the handle to start the vehicle, he saw that the lady’s feet were pointing backwards. Afraid and alone in the middle of the night, he ordered that lady to get out of his vehicle, but accepted to take only the male passenger ahead to his destination.

The rickshaw driver hurriedly took the rickshaw to the desired place of the lone passenger. The passenger (the one gentleman left) asked the driver what the problem was all about?. The driver without any hesitation, repeated what he had seen. The gentleman broke his silence only to offer the driver a look at his own feet, which were pointing backwards like the lady’s.

This is a true story as that autorickshaw driver suffered a heart attack and died in hospital, but not before referring it to others.

To show the seriousness of this ‘news’, railway stations in most of Mumbai’s suburbs displayed this news for public safety, and requested them to stay in groups, and also requested not to leave their houses after midnight.

This news also appeared in local newspapers. But such similar happenings haven’t occured recently.