“Asked Me To Pay Extra”: Man Assaulted By Ola Driver In Front Of Son, Demands Action

A social media user recently shared a harrowing incident while he was travelling in an Ola cab. The incident, which took place in Delhi, raised attention to the assault by the ride-hailing company’s driver, intimidation, and lack of responsibility. Numerous people are outraged by the situation and have called for action.

Kiran Verma, the Founder of Simply Blood, took to LinkedIn to post about the distressing incident. “This OLA CAB driver slapped me in front of my son and I strongly request you to #SayNotoOla Last month when I was in Delhi on a medical break from my 21,000kms Walk for blood donation awareness, I was going to pick someone from the airport. My son went along with me and we booked an #OlaCab,” he wrote.

Mr Verma said that the driver asked him to pay in cash. However, he refused. He added, “The driver asked me to cancel the ride and pay him in cash. I denied and with unwanting will he started the trip. He took completely opposite direction from our house and when I said he replied ‘there is a traffic jam.’ We haven’t went even a kilometre, where he stops the car and asked me to pay extra or else pay whatever comes in that ride. Since the guy started shouting without any reason, my 6 years son got scared and asked me to leave the car. I couldn’t see my son so scared and thought to calm him down.”

He dialled the security helpline on Ola and then reached out to the police. The father-son duo stood outside the car and the driver refused to return Mr Verma’s bag. When he confronted him and clicked his picture, the driver stepped out of the car and slapped him. “I dialed security helpline from the #OlaApp instantly and called Police Helpline.Me and my son was standing outside, and this guy took my bag. Meanwhile when I refused to pay him and click his picture with my bag. He came out and slapped me. There was a gentleman going (another cab driver) he came and stopped,” the user said.

“Later I took my son to a bench on footpath and was still on call with the helpline guy of ANI Technologies PVT LTD. The guy over phone suggested me not to pay or talk to the driver and that’s what I did,” Mr Verma wrote, adding that “this triggered the driver” as the phone was on loudspeaker and the driver slapped him again.

“But then the another driver stopped him. The driver took two goons along with him (maybe they had some plans to loot) but since there were 3-4 people by that time. All three ran (other two were on bike). I called #UPPolice and they came on the spot. But that was of no use. The driver who saved me took me to the airport and told me that no action will be taken on driver. Whereas Uber suspends such drivers and blacklists them,” he said. 

Mr Verma said that the company had not yet called him and closed the complaint ticket less than an hour after the incident. He said that his son was distressed by the entire situation. He wrote on the platform, “I was thinking to even expect a call from Ola but till date not even a single call from their side. SHOCKINGLY the complaint was closed by Ola company in less than an hour and till date no action has been taken. My son was so shocked that night that he cried out loud as soon as we reached home.”

The man also shared the details of the cab and complaint ticket number and urged internet users to stop using the ride-hailing service and consider other alternatives. He concluded the post and said, “No such driver should be allowed on road. People should STOP using Ola and use #Uber instead it might cost you more in terms of money but cheaper in terms of your safety and dignity. Bhavish Aggarwal should be held responsible in this case directly for creating such culture. It is my honest effort to protect atleast a few, who expect to use Ola as a safe car service. Again #StopUsingOla”

The post has amassed a lot of reactions from social media users who have expressed support for the user and called on Ola to take action. This distressing episode has rekindled concerns about ride-hailing companies’ responsibility and passenger safety, leading to requests for extensive reforms and awareness. 

“This is absolutely horrific! I’m so sorry you had to go through it,” said a user.

Another user wrote, “I remember when I had an issue with an Ola driver a few years back, the only thing Ola call centre people were keen on was on to stop me from registering a police complaint against the driver.”

A third wrote, “Time to shift on Uber or Rapido from Ola..! I never use Ola for such thing..! Bhavish Aggarwal has shifted his focus from Ola to building other startup. And now seems like no one cares about customer experience in Ola. #StopUsingOla”

“Please file a criminal complaint and negligence of service against all responsible. Start with consumer complaint,” stated a person.

“Could not agree more, I have had my worst experiences with Ola Cabs. The drivers cancel cabs last minute and ask for cash. They stop the cab in the middle of a quiet road to have “Pan masala”. The cars are mostly very dirty . The cab guys play real crap songs on a very high volume.

Additionally, the Ola drivers don’t put on the AC’s sighting random reasons and to make things even worse ..the customer service won’t respond. Worst company to travel with,” remarked a person.

A user wrote, “File a case with the consumer forum and also file a police complaint against the said driver and the company and claim damages/compensation from the company.”

Ola has not commented on the incident.