Play safe when you Uber

The shameful incident of a cab driver registered with Ola allegedly sexually assaulting a Belgian national once again highlights the threat to women safety at the hands of the city’s unregulated cab services.

Ola driver Balraj Singh was accused of forcibly kissing the Belgian tourist in the middle of a ride. He was arrested the next day, but the recent incident proves that no lessons have been learnt despite the conviction of an Uber cab driver for raping a customer in December 2014.

The driver involved in that case was sent to life in prison. Shiv Kumar Yadav, who was hired after he submitted fake documents, had threatened to assault the victim with a rod if she raised an alarm. More than 10 months later, Yadav was found guilty on charges of rape and endangering the life of the victim. 

Police investigation in the latest case also shows that the cab aggregators are still not following the rules before registering drivers on their apps.

Reports have now been sought by the Delhi High Court, Central government and the Delhi Commission for Women.

“Women safety cannot be compromised at any cost. The state governments of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh must show zero tolerance on this issue,” says DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal.

The incident also prompted External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to ask Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung for a report. “We are committed to the safety and security of all foreign nationals in India,” she tweeted.

Ola and Uber have repeatedly been involved in similar incidents of molestation and misbehaviour. It is also alleged that they are not ready to share the data on drivers and vehicles registered with them nor are they serious in checking the legal documents and antecedents of the registered drivers.

The 25-year-old Belgian woman, visiting India on a tourist visa, was subjected to sexual harassment after she hired an Ola cab on May 7. She was traveling from a mall in Gurgaon to south Delhi’s Chittaranjan Park.

“On the way, the driver claimed that his GPS had stopped functioning and signalled the woman to sit next to him,” says Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East) Mandeep Singh Randhawa.

The woman alleged that Singh suddenly grabbed and kissed her. When she protested and asked him to stop the cab, Singh dropped her at south Delhi’s Govindpuri.
After Singh drove away, the victim informed a friend in Chittaranjan Park. A call was made to the police control room after which the woman’s statement was recorded at her friend’s house.

As per Delhi government rules, taxi aggregators need to install GPS- and GPRS- based tracking devices and a display panel showing the map and the total distance covered.
It is also the responsibility of the taxi aggregators to ensure that a panic button is installed so that in case of distress, the passenger can alert the nearest police control room.

But no such facility was available to the Belgian victim.

“We were told that the complainant was scheduled to leave the country next day due to which we wanted to ensure that the accused was identified and caught within hours,” Randhawa adds.

The details of the cab driver were later sought from Ola. Balraj Singh, who hails from Rajasthan’s Alwar district, was tracked down and arrested from his house in Gurgaon on May 8.

“The complainant identified the cab driver and was able to leave for her country as per her original schedule on May 8,” Randhawa says.

In her complaint, the woman alleged that Singh deliberately took the wrong route after Hauz Khas and snatched her mobile phone when she threatened to inform her friend. Before fleeing, Singh also deleted her phone’s call records.

Though the victim had not saved her friend’s phone number, she retrieved it through an SMS. A case has been filed against Singh, but no action has been initiated against Ola so far.
Women’s rights activists also reckon that such incidents tarnish the country’s image and that tourists will be carrying a negative image while heading back home.

“The punishment to the criminal should be exemplary. The authorities should show the same sense of urgency even if the victims are from our own country. A few black sheep tarnish the image of the entire workforce and the country in general,” says activist Abha Singh.

Singh adds that the FIR should be registered not only against the driver, but also against the cab aggregators. “When a passenger books a cab, she does not book the cab driver. She books the cab aggregator. These firms must be booked for criminal breach of trust,” she says.  

Another activist, Kavita Shrivastava, says there should be a crackdown on cab aggregators so that the message is loud and clear that there will be no compromise on women’s safety.

“There should be a complete ban on the app-based cab services. The way women are being teased and molested in cabs clearly shows that the fear of law is not there. Such firms must be banned till they comply with safety standards and regulations,” she adds.
Taking suo motu cognisance of the threat to women’s safety, the Delhi Commission for Women has also issued a notice to five app-based cab services, including Ola and Uber.

The commission believes that not all drivers possess the Public Service Vehicle Badge issued by the Delhi Transport Department. They have sought to know the number of taxis which operate under their banners and the number of drivers whose details have not been duly verified.

“What is the protocol followed by you to connect to the police in case a distress call is received?” says the notice issued by DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal.

“Please provide us copies of all standard operating procedures followed by you for the same, data on response time and a brief summary of all cases in 2015 that have required police intervention,” it adds.

On May 10, the Delhi High Court had also raised similar concerns and told the cab aggregators to provide details of their drivers and get their antecedents checked by police. The court stated that the safety of passengers cannot be compromised.

“We have to ensure that no passengers are harmed by any of the drivers in future,” Justice JR Midha said in the order. The matter has been listed for July 22. According to rules, the cab aggregators are restrained from registering drivers convicted in the past 7 years.

Among the latest incidents, another Ola cab driver misbehaved with a group of journalists in central Delhi on May 12. A complaint led to Ola suspending the driver, Mohammad Usman.

The complaint was also filed with Tilak Marg police station, but no FIR was registered.
The journalists had hired the cab from Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia near India Gate. The driver allegedly misbehaved with them when they questioned him for not reporting in uniform and wearing his badge.

Usman misbehaved, cancelled the trip and told the journalists to get out from the cab. They went ahead to complain with Ola on which the company’s executives called Usman. He, however, refused to drop the passengers to their destination.

The journalists informed police, but Usman was only told to pay a fine. He was soon allowed to return to the roads and look for his next customers.

An Ola spokesperson says they have removed the drivers involved in the 2 recent incidents from their platform. “We have zero tolerance for this kind of behaviour from drivers-partners registered with us. We have also assured full support on sharing all required information like driver details and GPS coordinates to police. Ola is committed to the safety of its users at all times,” the spokesperson adds. Uber has also given similar assurances in the past.