A Mumbai-based female journalist was allegedly physically and racially abused by a co-passenger while travelling in an Uber Pool. The alleged incident took place on Monday near Lower Parel region of Mumbai.
Detailing the incident on social media, Ushnota Paul claimed that her co-passenger was “hostile from the very start”. She wrote, “She started yelling at the driver, saying she’s paying the ‘most’ and still she’s getting dropped last. When I tried to intervene, I was verbally abused.”
Paul says when she tried to ignore her abusive co-passenger, she banged the car’s hand rest over her hand and her bag, asking her to move her “dirty things” away. She further goes on to mention that when they neared her co-passenger’s drop location at Urmi Estate in Lower Parel, she even started using racial slurs.
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Hi @Uber_Support , I had the worst experience today morning. Was Uber pooling with a woman who was hostile from the very start. She started yelling at the driver saying she’s paying the “most” & still she’s getting dropped last. When I tried to intervene I was verbally abused. pic.twitter.com/4uHLUii3X7
— Ushnota Paul (@journojuno) June 25, 2018
“It was almost near Urmi Estate in Lower Parel (where her drop was) when she went completely racist and called me a ‘chinky and a ‘chinky s**t’,” she wrote. “I told her it’s racist to which she said ‘Haan toh? Kya kar legi?‘ (Yeah, so? What will you do?).”
When Paul attempted to click a picture of her co-passenger, she allegedly tried to snatch her phone away and even attempted to break it. She added, “Before she got down from the cab, she physically attacked me… grabbed me by my hair, tore off clumps of hair, scratched my face. I tried to defend myself with both hands trying to protect my face and I got huge scratches there too. I started crying and she hopped off the cab and went inside Urmi Estate.”
Paul has filed a formal complaint with the Lower Parel Police Station along with the statement of the Uber driver. She also reached out to Uber, who refused to disclose details of the co-passenger, citing “customer privacy”. However, even upon further persuasion, on the grounds that the passenger was an alleged assailant, Uber refused to divulge her information.
Thank you for providing this information. Our team is currently working to resolve this issue and will be in touch shortly via email. We appreciate your patience while we review.
— Uber Support (@Uber_Support) June 25, 2018
You guys must help Mumbai Police in providing her identity since I have already filed an FIR against her. She should be banned form Uber because if it happened to me today, it can happen to anyone.
— Ushnota Paul (@journojuno) June 25, 2018
“I have a copy of the original FIR and I will not back down. Think twice before taking Uber. I am shaken and terrified with the whole experience right now. I. AM. DONE,” she wrote.
Earlier this month, a journalist was harassed by an Ola driver, who refused to take him to his designated drop at “filthy” Jamia University in Delhi. The rider claimed he was dropped at a deserted location and was threatened. Ola responded with urgency and fired the driver.
