Bengaluru Uber Driver Breaks Passenger’s Nose over Fare Dispute

The accused driver Harish KS, is still absconding.

Image used for representation.

(Photo: AP)

In yet another incident of unruly behaviour by cab drivers in Bengaluru, a driver partner of Uber on Thursday, 3 October, hit his passenger and left him with a bloodied nose. The incident occurred when one Aneek Roy (23) had booked a ride from his Whitefield residence to the airport.

While he had booked an UberPool ride, Aneek said he was asked by the driver to pay him a higher price upfront of UberGo. This led to an argument which later escalated with Aneek being punched by the cab driver and left with a bloodied nose.

The Mahadevapura police have booked a case under Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), Section 323 (assault), and Section 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code.

“In his statement, he said when he started loading his luggage in the taxi, the driver, identified as Harish KS, demanded that he pay the Uber Go fare in advance,” a senior police officer told The Hindu.

When Aneek said he would not pay the high fare demanded by Harish, he was asked to cancel the ride on the app and abort the vehicle to which Aneek protested. Claiming that he would be fined for cancelling the ride, he tried to persuade the driver.

But to this, the driver started throwing his luggage on the ground and started hitting him when Aneek told him that he would complain against him on the app.

Moreover, Harish in his complaint said that by this time there was a crowd of onlookers, but nobody came forward to help except a shopkeeper who also gave him water.

The accused in this case Harish KS, is still absconding.

Aneek was not allowed to board the flight even though he reached the airport on time using another cab, as he was still bleeding. Doctors at the Manipal Hospital diagnosed that Aneek has a nasal bone dislocation.

The Deccan Herald quoted an Uber spokesperson as saying, “We have removed the driver partner’s access to the app. We stand ready to assist law enforcement with their investigation.”

However, this is not the first such incident when a cabbie has turned violent. Recently, a former police officer of ACP rank was assaulted by an Uber driver in August. There was another such incident in July as well.

(The story was first published on The News Minute and has been republished in an arrangement.)