Bengaluru: 30-year-old man beaten badly by Uber driver
People often opt for established ride-hailing services for added safety. But, of late, there have been increasing reports of incidents involving outbursts and violence from Uber and Ola drivers. The latest such incident involves a 30-year-old sales manager being beaten badly and left bleeding on the road by an Uber driver in Bengaluru. This is the fourth such case in a week. Here's more.
The incident took place on July 6
The incident, which recently came to light, involves Abir Chandra who was heading home on an Uber Pool car (KA-05-AG-4360) driven by Anush R on July 6. Chandra had asked the driver to drive a bit faster as he had guests waiting at home. Mid-way, the driver reportedly asked him to get out owing to traffic ahead, following which an altercation began.
Chandra suffered a broken nose, two broken fingers
The driver dragged Chandra out of the car following which Chandra shoved him. Then, the driver punched Chandra and headbutted him in the face, breaking his nose. When he tried to push the driver again, the latter called the locals and beat Chandra up, leaving him bleeding on the side of the road with a broken nose and two broken fingers.
Uber has barred the driver, pending further investigation
Chandra was treated at the Apollo and Columbia Asia hospitals. He told ToI that CT scans had shown damage to his brain channels, and blood clots behind his eyes. Chandra has lodged a complaint with both the police and Uber. Uber has confirmed that the driver, Anush R, has been barred from serving for the company, pending further investigation.
Earlier similar incidents in July
Notably, this is not a one-off incident. On July 4, an Ola driver kidnapped a lone female passenger bound for the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. She was rescued by motorists who saw her banging on the cab windows. On July 10, an Ola driver was arrested for abusing and threatening a woman passenger in Bengaluru because she objected to unwarranted waiting charges.