Uber cabbie, accused of molestation, told her he respects women a lot

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“On the way, near Delhi Cantonment area, the woman the car was passing through a lonely stretch and my daughter felt uneasy. She decided to sit in the front as then she might be able to pull the hand brakes and get out of the car in the event of an emergency or any untoward incident. She asked the driver to stop and she sat beside him while her bags were left on the rear seat. They then got talking,” the 21-year-old’s mother said.

Vinod, the woman’s mother said, began telling my daughter that he too had a young daughter who he wanted to be a doctor or nurse. He also went on to tell her, “Woh jisne rape kiya tha, woh galat kaam kiya. Woh galat aadmi tha. Usse waise nahin karna chahiye thha. Mai aurton ki bahut ki izzat karta hun.”

However, things took an uncomfortable turn when Vinod at least four times mentioned that the woman was looking nice. “Aap bahut acche lag rahe ho,” he allegedly kept saying.

“My sister ignored those comments,” the woman’s brother said. Once they reached Suncity township, the woman got off the car as did Vinod. Vinod opened the door and helped her with the bags. “He offered my sister his hand which she shook. However, he, to her surprise, pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed it. Before my sister could react, he yanked her towards him by her hand. She resisted him by slipping her hand out of his. She ducked, pulled the third bag out of the car and briskly walked into the apartment where her friends were waiting for her,” her brother said.

According to her family, the woman checked the Uber app but she could find no email ID or helpline number. She lodged her complaint in the “feedback” section. A woman attendant from Uber called the woman around 15 minutes later.

Later, she received a note from Uber which read, “Thank you for speaking to my colleague Aparna over the phone and sharing the details. We never want you to feel uncomfortable when riding with a driver partner on our system. I totally understand your concern and I’m extremely disappointed to hear this happened. We have a zero tolerance policy for this behaviour and I assure you that out team is following up with Vinod appropriately and immediately…”

“Vinod called my sister up Sunday night around 9.30 pm complaining that he had lost his job because of her complaint to Uber. My sister said he deserved it for what he had done. He called her a second time but she did not take his call. We fear he might try to get in touch with her again,” the brother said.

Uber’s version

According to Uber, on May 30, the trip ended at 11.33 pm; and the rider complained to Uber by email at 11.48 pm. Sources said the Uber support called rider’s mobile number and spoke to rider’s friend at 11.56 pm. Uber support sent a follow-up email to the rider at 1.34 am on May 31.

A statement from Gagan Bhatia, GM Delhi, Uber, said, “Our team immediately reached out to the rider via phone within a few minutes of receiving the feedback and deactivated the driver partner pending full investigation. We also reached out to the Gurgaon police to alert them of this incident even before an FIR was lodged by the rider. This was done to ensure that they were made aware that we have received a complaint…”