New Delhi: What happened to biker Shivani Chauhan, alias Sia, was not extraordinary. The 27-year-old was driving her motorbike on one of Gurugram’s plushest addresses – the Golf Course Road – when Kalyan Bainsla, a gym-owner, rammed into her in his car. Some have argued that the entitlement and expectation of impunity is typical of the city.However, the outrage, the outpouring of support and the barrage of hate, as well as Chauhan’s steely resolve to see the case through, have turned it into a spectacle that is unfolding online, and in real time. Bainsla, the main accused, and his cousin, Lavnish Gurjar, were arrested in Dausa after a two-day search. Bainsla has since been sent to 14-day judicial custody. Chauhan posted the video on social media, which shows her riding her bike, up until a white Maruti Suzuki Ciaz veers into her, collides and throws her off the vehicle. The virality and ensuing umbrage resulted in the Gurguram police filing a suo motu case. Since then, Chauhan has remained active – debunking Bainsla’s claims of it being an accident. She has given a series of interviews, ensuring the case picks up in momentum and remains in the headlines. The moment when Bainsla’s car hit Sia, knocking her off the bike and dragging it for several metres, on Golf Course Road, in Gurugram. Photo: PTI“When I posted that video on Instagram, my main motive was to scare him. But it went viral and suddenly, so many people began sharing their experiences,” she said. “The next day, my lawyer and I were going to file an FIR, but the media had already descended on my house. I knew then that there was no going back.” For her, “minimum punishment” is not enough. She is interested in retribution – for an example to be made off Bainsla, and for the roads to become marginally safer for women. In the past decade, biking has become an abundantly popular hobby among urban women, with a cursory google search yielding dozens of women-only biking communities that not only provide training, but camaraderie.Chauhan herself picked up riding as a passion about a year ago. In 2022, she contested the municipal commission elections in Delhi on an Aam Aadmi Party ticket. However, she has insisted on keeping these two identities distinct. Her biking Instagram account, rebelwheels_sia_, has 44 posts, and her face is almost never visible – always concealed behind a helmet or a buff. She rides an Aprilla RS 457, and posts about travelling and the thrill of being a woman on a bike.Now, however, she is more visible than ever, and has become embroiled in a mini war of narratives being waged online. There are videos dissecting “Sia vs Kalyan Bainsla”, some in support that say things like “As a Gurjar, I stand with Shivani Chauhan,” as well as those in favour of Bainsla, also expressing caste pride. At one level, the conversation appears to have devolved into a rush for engagement, with content creators working within the boundaries of the attention economy that currently rewards videos of Chauhan and Bainsla. “They are trying to change the narrative,” she said. “Right now, everyone is supporting me. And it’s not about me being a woman, it’s the reality of the situation.” Bainsla’s cousin was also seen giving a clip to the media, saying that Chauhan was playing the victim card.She was immediately indignant. “The accident happened to me. I am the victim. But that doesn’t mean I want to be pitied.” ‘Tier-2 Cities are far more encouraging’Deepika, one of the founders of Nomad Bikers Club – a community that now operates in 24 Indian cities – has been riding for 15 years. But while most women bikers online lean into the aesthetics of masculinity, she seldom posts photos of her with her bikes. The comments, she told The Wire, are usually of two kinds: either they’re perpetuating antiquated stereotypes, or they’re sexualised. “From the outside, it looks like we’ve become progressive. But none of that is happening. When it comes to my personal profile, I can’t tolerate it,” she said. According to her, all tier-1 cities are uniquely bad when it comes to ensuring a comfortable environment for women drivers. “We take all precautions but these men always make it unsafe,” she said. “Tier-2 cities can be far more encouraging.” A lot of women themselves seek out women-only biking spaces because of how often they are made to feel uncomfortable while learning. They aren’t given room to learn and are always mocked or pilloried by the men in their lives or on the road. “They [men] are not patient. They don’t give women the space to make mistakes. Anytime they’re on the road they’re expected to be perfect,” she said. Meanwhile, for Chauhan, by the time she had realised what had really happened to her, she was in a state of physical and mental disorientation. A sense of displacement had overcome her.“The entire incident was so scary and traumatic. There were so many emotions going through my mind,” she said. “I couldn’t understand what had happened to me, where my injuries were.”