Another Day, Another Incident: Woman Accuses Uber Driver Of Sending Inappropriate Messages

In yet another case of harassment of an Uber passenger, a woman has accused a driver of the cab aggregator of sending inappropriate messages after the completion of her ride.

Bhumika Maheshwari, a homeopathic doctor by profession, took to X, formerly Twitter, to share her ordeal, saying the incident left her uncomfortable and raised serious safety concerns.

“On 19/10/2023, I encountered a distressing situation where I received inappropriate messages from one of your drivers after a ride. This incident has not only left me feeling uncomfortable but has also raised serious security and safety concerns,” Maheshwari posted, tagging Uber India. 

Maheshwari called on the platform to take immediate steps to probe the matter and identify the alleged culprit. She also asked the ride-hailing giant to ensure such incidents do not take place and ensure safety and security of passengers is paramount for the company. 

Uber India declined to comment on the matter. In response to the complainant’s tweet online, the company said it was working to address the matter at the earliest. There was no clarity on the steps being taken by the company to resolve the issue.

Later, she said Uber’s security team informed her that the accused was ‘currently’ not on the company’s active driver list.

This is not the first time that the ride-hailing giant has landed in a soup for alleged sexual harassment by its drivers. In June this year, a post on LinkedIn went viral where a woman alleged that an Uber driver flashed her mid-ride in Bengaluru. 

In August, a passenger’s husband claimed that an Uber driver assaulted his wife in Bengaluru after they boarded a wrong cab. Besides, an Uber auto rickshaw driver was also arrested earlier this year after he allegedly tried to molest an IT professional in Pune. In another case involving an Uber driver this year, a female passenger claimed that the ride-hailing company did not respond to her multiple distress calls while being attacked by robbers in Delhi.

Uber is not alone in this. Other ride-hailing platforms from Ola to Rapido have also seen sexual harassment allegations against their drivers. In July, a woman jumped off a moving Rapido bike after the driver allegedly tried to sexually harass her. In March, a woman was allegedly molested by an Ola bike driver in Hyderabad.

The latest case has once again raised questions over the safety of ride-hailing platforms, especially for female passengers, and their background verification process for drivers. 

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