She had booked the autorickshaw from a popular pub in Bandra to her residence

A 29-year-old Mumbai resident had to undergo a horrific experience after she booked an Uber Auto to get home on Tuesday night.

The woman, who has since filed a complaint with Uber, booked the autorickshaw from a popular pub in Bandra west to get to her residence. She subsequently called the driver to ensure he had the right location and the driver asked her something that she could not understand, after which she asked him to repeat his question.

Incomprehensible

After a couple of times, she realised that the driver was asking, “Drugs laaoon ya ladke (‘should I get drugs or men’)?”

The victim, who still did not understand, asked him what he was talking about, to which he replied by asking, “How many men should I get?”

Still unsure about what was happening, the woman asked if she was speaking to an Uber driver or someone else. The driver replied in Hindi saying, “Aren’t you the girl in the blue top standing outside the pub? Just tell me how many men you want me to bring.”

Terrified

As she realised what was happening, the terrified woman immediately cancelled her ride and narrated the incident to some friends who were with her at the time. The friends dropped her home and she filed an official complaint with Uber, while also tweeting about her ordeal.

Uber responded to her on Twitter as well as by email to her complaint, and she also received a call from Uber on Wednesday.

“The emails were pretty generic; two from the support team and one from the social media team. On the phone, the person apologised and told me he was horrified that I had to go through this. He assured me that Uber always does background checks on everyone and he will ensure that this driver will not serve with them ever again,” she told The Hindu.

She added that she was still considering filing a police complaint in connection with the matter.

“I can’t imagine how someone thinks it’s okay to behave this way. I just don’t get it. He has to be stopped,” she said.

Uber’s response

In a late evening response, an Uber spokesperson said, “What’s been described is deeply concerning and has no place on our app. We have a zero tolerance policy towards any kind of misconduct by driver partners and we have immediately suspended his access to the Uber app. We stand ready to assist law enforcement authorities with their investigation in any way possible."