Stories of molestation and sexual harassment in cabs services like ‘Ola’ and ‘Uber’ are familiar to all of us. In a country where the increasing cases of rape have left women scared to walk freely, no place is safe. Not even booking a cab and definitely not in the darkness of night.
In a bizarre incident in Pune, a woman who booked her Uber ride from Senapati Bapat Road, was offered alcohol by the driver! Speaking about the same to TOI she said,
“The driver was late by 10 minutes and I called him to know why. The driver identified himself as Balaji and his answer first confused me and then shocked me.”
Yes, you heard it right. The woman who requested her identity to be kept a secret booked the cab from her office place for a ride back home. On the driver taking time to reach, she called him up to inquire what was wrong.
She was taken with a jolt when the driver explained his reason and asked her whether she needed a ‘night parcel’. He went on to ask whether she would like to have a drink.
“He said he was reaching in five minutes and then asked me if I needed the ‘night parcel’. I had no clue what it meant and asked him. He told me ‘night parcel’ meant vodka and whether I wanted the drink. I was utterly shocked and immediately disconnected.”
She continued,
“The driver called me thrice, but I didn’t take his call. I checked the application and saw that he was 2-3 minutes away from where I was standing. I cancelled the ride and crossed over to the other side of the road so that he would not identify me.”
The woman went back home in an auto and filed a complaint against the driver to Uber. However, she has taken the decision to keep the police away for now.
An Uber spokesperson stated that the company has already terminated the driver’s partner access from the app and termed customer safety as their first priority.
A representative of the company also replied with an apology to the woman who had to face the discomfort. However, does an apology put everything back into place? No. We have to take a much bigger step to ensure the safety of the women of our country and now.