Pune woman's creepy encounter with an Uber driver makes me terrified of taking a cab to work

Whenever I come across reports of cab drivers misbehaving with female passengers, it gives me the creeps. Photo Courtesy: Twitter/ TheBubble

It was a few years ago, when a cousin of mine told me about cab services like Ola and Uber and I was overjoyed--majorly because I was sick of travelling in jam-packed public transports. It's been years, but I have been a loyal customer, ever since. However, the growing incidents of drivers from such cab services misbehaving, molesting, and even raping the female passengers has made me apprehensive about taking cabs to work.

Whenever I come across such reports, it gives me the creeps. So, when I read about a Pune woman and her harrowing encounter with an Uber driver, it made me all the more distressed.

Ambika Sharma Anavkar, a Pune resident, recently took to Facebook to share the screenshots of her conversation with an Uber driver who once dropped her cousin and her two kids at their destination. Because Anavkar had booked the cab with her account, she wasn't much surprised when she first received the driver's messages.

"When the driver Sanjay messaged her, she first thought her cousin must have left something behind in the cab. But when he started saying this like "Bas aise hi msg kiya tha miss kiya apko" (Just texted because I was missing you), assuming Anavkar to be the cousin who boarded the cab, she posted about the incident on social media, alerting Uber India on Twitter," states a report published in Indian Express.

Dear @Uber @UberIndia, Please see the attached!! This is what I least expected from your driver... beginning of harassment? @PunePolice4U pic.twitter.com/R0nGhsATpm

- ????? (@fionadolly) May 22, 2017

Also read: When auto drivers threaten women with rape over fare, how can we expect them to be safe on roads?

In a post that Anavkar wrote on Facebook, she correctly points out that the incident, though did not bring to her any physical harm, reeks of harassment and it's just the beginning.

"If this is not the beginning of harassment then what is?" she asks.

Thankfully, Uber paid heed to her complaint and responded to her immediately by asking her to message them her registered mobile number. Furthermore, they suspended the driver until further investigation.

@fionadolly Ambika, this is concerning. Please DM us your registered email ID/ mobile number. https://t.co/1WqzzOmdKe

- Uber India Support (@UberINSupport) May 22, 2017

"What's been described has no place on the Uber app. We internally investigated the matter and have been in touch with the rider. The driver has been barred from using the app," an Uber spokesperson told NDTV.

After her post went viral, many more Uber users have come out in support of Anavkar, complimenting her for not taking the incident lightly and reporting it. Something that most female commuters avoid doing, just to save themselves some hassle.

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