A man, Kiran Verma, alleged that an Ola cab driver physically assaulted him in front of his 6-year-old son. Verma detailed the incident in a LinkedIn post on Friday, recounting how it transpired in Delhi last month when he and his son booked an Ola cab to pick someone up from the airport.
According to Verma, a disagreement arose when the driver insisted on cancelling the ride and using cash as the payment method, leading to a confrontation. The situation escalated when the driver opted for a completely different route, citing a traffic jam.
Verma wrote: “Last month when I was in Delhi on a medical break from my 21,000kms Walk for blood donation awareness, I was going to pick someone from the airport. My son went along with me and we booked an #OlaCab. The driver asked me to cancel the ride and pay him in cash. I denied and with unwanting will he started the trip. He took completely opposite direction from our house and when I said he replied “there is a traffic jam."
Verma described how the ordeal frightened his son, prompting him to call both the Ola support executive and the police for help.
“We haven’t went even a kilometre, where he stops the car and asked me to pay extra or else pay whatever comes in that ride. Since the guy started shouting without any reason, my 6 years son got scared and asked me to leave the car. I couldn’t see my son so scared and thought to calm him down. I dialed security helpline from the #OlaApp instantly and called Police Helpline. Me and my son was standing outside, and this guy took my bag. Meanwhile when I refused to pay him and click his picture with my bag. He came out and slapped me", Verma added.
Outcry Over Accountability and Safety Reforms
The post has sparked widespread discussion on social media, with numerous individuals expressing support for Verma and urging Ola to take action. Concerns about passenger safety have been raised, emphasising the need for ride-hailing companies to exercise greater responsibility.
“Both Ola and Uber operate without any accountability. There’s no grievances redressal mechanism, whatever exists is merely optical. High time the government looked into this and cracked a whip on this “sellers only" business malpractices," a user wrote on Verma’s post.
While another commented, “Kiran Verma You need to file an FIR against Bhavish Agarwal & OLA both, as my Support I will never use OLA again till your case finds a justified solution, as this driver needs to be behind bars at any cost."
Another user shared a similar experience with the ride-hailing company, she wrote: “I had a similar experience with Ola where the driver abused me n threatened me in front of my kids. I was constantly on call with Ola helpline and from my second mobile called up police. Knowing this well he dropped me to my apartment n I instructed guards to be careful. The driver came out following me n when apartment guards tried to stop him, he started hitting them. The complaint was lodged but no action was taken. Customer care requested me cctv footage which I provided and still from their end, no action. Security head of my apartment took that guy to the police station but Ola didn’t intervene at all. I uninstalled the Ola app that day… it’s been more than 7 years.."
Another user recalled, “I remember when I had an issue with an Ola driver a few years back, the only thing Ola call centre people were keen on was on to stop me from registering a police complaint against the driver.
After the post gained traction on the platform, Verma shared a follow-up video on Saturday, commending a different cab driver who intervened when he encountered harassment from his Ola cab driver in the initial incident.
“Meet the Hero, who stopped the #OlaDriver to slap me further (after I was slapped twice)," the caption of the video read, as he provided additional context to the incident in his latest post.
Comments
0 comment