On Saturday, a 46-year-old woman was allegedly harassed by her Ola cab driver in Kolkata after a verbal confrontation ensued between the two over burning an incense stick inside the car, reported The Times of India.
As per the report, the woman, a process scientist at a private firm, had boarded a shared Ola cab from BT road around 6 p.m. When she boarded the taxi, one of the co-passengers pointed out the incense stick that was burning beside the steering wheel.
Since she was allergic to the smell, the 46-year-old scientist allegedly requested the driver to extinguish it. The driver was unmoved and instead resorted to verbal abuse. The female rider then threatened to call the cops, following which he put the incense stick out.
There were a total of 3 passengers in the taxi. After the two riders got off near Brabourne Road, the Ola cab driver began his verbal tirade and drove recklessly. This rash driving reportedly resulted in an accident with a bus near Sealdah flyover.
When a traffic police officer stopped the car, the woman reportedly complained about the driver to him. Her efforts were in vain as the cop allowed the driver to go about his business. She rang up the Ola customer care service and lodged a complaint against the driver. The woman was told that the driver’s account was blocked for the day. However, the abusive driver told her that he had a booking at Maniktala.
She recounted, “As I called up the customer care operator again, the driver was asked to drop me and said that he would not receive any passenger for the day.” The woman alleged that the man began driving slowly in a completely different direction from her destination in Prince Anwar Shah road. After sitting through 3 long hours, she was finally dropped at home at around 8:55 pm.
The driver then began demanding an extra ₹100, even though she had already paid the due fare of ₹205. Shaken by the harrowing experience, the woman recalled, ” As I refused to pay him the extra money and walked away, the driver called me from different numbers, asking for the money. There were 56 missed calls.
The female scientist had reported the incident to the Kolkata Traffic Police. But, none from the law enforcement has contacted her as of yet. Ola officials have reportedly informed her that the reckless driver had been de-rostered.
