KOCHI: At a time when taxi-hailing apps are pitching high on the safety of woman passengers in their cabs, a Delhi native woman had a horrifying experience a few days ago while travelling alone in an Ola cab after a driver misbehaved with her and left her midway on the road in Kochi.
Versa Verma, 38, a Delhi native, moved to Kochi months ago as part of her job. She relied on app-based cab services to commute between her office at Kacheripady and her house at Kadavanthara. “I was shocked and never expected such a situation will ever occur to me,” she said, adding that police have registered a case against the driver, Abdul Sathar, 45.
Versa said the incident occurred on March 25 around 6.18 PM when she was travelling alone in an Ola cab to her home from the office. “The driver picked me from my office after 5.30 PM. Till Panampilly Nagar junction everything was fine. The driver took a different turn while my house was in the opposite direction. I was sitting on the rear seat behind him. When I enquired why he took the other road, he got infuriated and shouted at me,” she said.
“When I objected, he turned and swing his hand at me asking me to shut up. He abused me in Malayalam. As I started shooting his violent behaviour, he opened the door on my side. He shouted at me to get out. He dared me to go ahead with a police complaint.” The police said they would take strict action. Despite raising a complaint, Ola had not responded till last night.