Uber driver breaks techie’s nose over fare

The city’s cab drivers are once again in the news for the wrong reasons, after an Uber driver assaulted a passenger travelling to the Kempegowda International Airport for refusing to pay the fare in advance on Thursday.

The victim, Aneek Roy (23), is an employee at a software firm at Whitefield and a resident of the Mahaveer Tuskan Apartment in Hoodi.

In his complaint to the Mahadevapura police, Roy said that he had booked an UberPool ride to reach the airport on October 3 evening. After he placed the luggage inside the car, driver Harish K S demanded that Roy pay the UberGo fare, which is costlier than Pool, in advance.

Roy refused to do so, telling the driver that he would pay the fare for UberPool under which he had made the booking. When the driver asked Roy to cancel the ride, he questioned the driver as to why had he agreed to take the booking in the first place. Soon, an argument ensued and Roy told him that he would raise a complaint with Uber.

Harish finally cancelled the ride and threw Roy’s luggage out of the cab. When Roy objected to his rude behaviour, the driver got angry and started punching and kicking him.

A shopkeeper came to his rescue as he pacified the driver. Roy started bleeding from his nose and could not stand for a while. Since he was running late, he booked another cab to the airport.

Roy reached the airport, but the staff refused to allow him to fly as his nose was bleeding. He was given medical aid at the hospital in the airport and later taken to Manipal Hospital on Old Airport Road, where doctors said that his nose bone had been dislocated. He filed a police complaint the next morning.

The Mahadevapura police said they were yet to arrest Harish as he was absconding, and efforts were on to nab him.

Reacting to the incident, an Uber spokesperson said: “We have removed the driver partner’s access to the app. We stand ready to assist law enforcement with their
investigation.”