Delhi Journalist Claims She was Sexually Harassed by Uber Driver, DCW Issues Notice

A journalist working for a major media house alleges an Uber auto-rickshaw driver sexually harassed her during a ride from her home to her friend’s residence.

In a tweet, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) confirmed that it had received a complaint and that it had sent a notification to both the city police and cab aggregators. A case was later registered and the police is working to trace the accused, the Delhi police said.

Through a series of tweets, the woman described her ordeal. The incident reportedly took place on Wednesday when she boarded an auto-rickshaw from her residence in New Friends Colony to Malviya Nagar to visit a friend.

“I took an auto from my home to a friend’s place. After a while, I noticed that the driver was looking at me through the side mirrors of the auto, precisely at my breasts. I shifted a bit towards the right and wasn’t visible in the left side mirror,” she said in a tweet.

“He then started looking at the right side of the mirror. I then shifted to the extreme left and wasn’t visible in any of the mirrors. He then started looking back again and again to see me. I first tried using the safety feature of @uber, but to no avail,” she said in another tweet.

She claimed that the first time she dialled the number, the audio wasn’t clear. When she confronted the driver and told him that she would raise a complaint, he responded by asking her to “go ahead”.

“I then redialled the number but couldn’t hear the audio due to a poor network,” she alleged. She also said she did not cancel the ride as it was a short one.

“I was contacted by Uber support after several hours and filed my complaint,” she told PTI.

When contacted, police said they had not received any formal complaint in the matter yet.

Having issued a notice to the Delhi Police, the women’s panel requested an update by March 6. In its notice to Uber, the panel sought details of steps taken to prevent such incidents. Furthermore, it wants to know whether the accused auto driver has been verified by the police.

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