Woman registers complaint; Uber investigating complaint.
By Dileep Thekkethil
BENGALURU: A new case of sexual assault of a Delhi woman by a Uber taxi driver is a wake-up call for authorities, pointing to the need of bringing awareness rather than issuing more PSV badges and other identification tools that become handy only after the crime has happened.
It is the second time in six months that Uber, which is one of the most popular app-based taxi services, is facing public anger for sexual offences committed by its drivers. Earlier, a Uber cab driver had raped a passenger in New Delhi, leading to the ban of Uber taxis for a month, and now another driver is alleged of trying to kiss a passenger.
The incident reportedly took place on Saturday night when the victim hired a Uber taxi to drop her at Leela Palace Hotel. According to the woman’s brother, the driver, now identified as Vinod, tried to forcibly kiss her, which prompted her to register a formal complaint with Uber.
Her brother later posted the snapshot of the complaint in the company’s official Facebook and Twitter pages.
In response to the woman’s complaint, Uber official Anisul Haque apologized for the great discomfort caused to the woman and assured that the perpetrator will be punished as part of the company’s “zero-tolerance policy”. He also assured that the Uber team will summon Vinod, the driver, and would appropriately and immediately take action against him.
A few hours after the promise, the woman’s brother wrote on the social media walls of Uber that “no action” has been taken. “No update from your end. You people are pathetic, you still don’t have any mechanism in place. What is making you people wait for so long? (sic)”. The woman’s brother also confirmed that a case has been registered by his sister. Rajesh Kumar, Gurgaon ACP (Crime) said that he was aware of the incident, but no case has been registered yet.
ACP Kumar was quoted by The Indian Express, saying, “As per our information, the woman had taken a taxi bound for The Leela hotel in Gurgaon, which is close to the Delhi border. It is possible the incident took place while the cab was still in Delhi,”
Gagan Bhatia, General Manager, Uber Delhi said that Vinod’s services have been deactivated till the investigation is over. He also added that “Our team immediately reached out to the rider via phone within a few minutes of receiving the feedback. Multiple members of the Uber team have spoken with the driver. Uber has a zero-tolerance policy towards inappropriate behaviour and immediate action has already been taken with the driver partner being deactivated while the matter is being thoroughly investigated. In order to protect the privacy of parties involved, we will continue to handle this matter directly with the concerned parties. As discussed with the rider on the phone and email, our team is ready to assist further in any way we can to share information with authorities. We can also confirm that the driver partner does have a valid PSV badge and commercial license issued by the Delhi authorities.”
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