CHANDIGARH: A woman software engineer and artificial intelligence (AI) professional travelling from Delhi airport to Gurugram has alleged that a fare dispute with an Uber driver escalated into physical aggression, as her arm was grabbed, verbal abuse, as he misbehaved with her, being locked inside the car, and death threats at her doorstep in the early hours of the morning.
Tanisha Sharma shared her account of the incident on X, prompting concerns over passenger safety. She claimed that the driver demanded more than the fare displayed on her app and later followed her to her home.
She tagged Uber's support account and sought an urgent response from a company representative, a proper investigation and concrete action. She also urged the platform to preserve the trip details and driver records.
“I landed at Delhi airport today and had one of the most terrifying experiences of my life with an Uber driver. I'm still shaken. I booked an Uber to Gurgaon for a 20-minute ride. The fare shown on my Uber app was around ₹625. After the trip, the driver showed me a screenshot from Rapido quoting ₹1,479 and demanded that I pay that amount instead. When I pointed out that this was a Rapido screenshot and not an Uber screenshot, he said, ‘Iss route ka itna hi hota hai."
“I paid the ₹625 that was shown on my Uber app. What followed was genuinely frightening. He locked the car and refused to let me take my luggage out unless I paid ₹1,479. When I tried retrieving my belongings, he held my arm and shut the front-seat window where my luggage was, trying to stop me from taking it out. I somehow managed to get my luggage and tried to enter my house. He followed me, forced the gate, abused me horribly and wouldn't let me go inside peacefully,” the post added.
She wrote, “I finally managed to get inside and lock the door. He then started climbing the gate while hurling abuses and threatening my life. All of this happened around 4:45 am in Gurugram, when I'd just landed and was simply trying to get home safely. And it gets worse.”
“I'm trying to reach Uber's safety support, and the safety support option isn't available to me. I'm dealing with a terrifying situation involving physical aggression and life threats, and I can't even get through to the platform's safety team. This wasn't a fare dispute anymore. This was intimidation, physical aggression and a terrifying violation of my safety at my own doorstep. @Uber_Support, @Uber_India, @UberIN_Support, @Uber,” it read.
Demanding a probe, Tanisha concluded, “I need an urgent human response, a proper investigation and concrete action. Please preserve the trip and driver records and tell me how this is being addressed. I've used cabs to get around in different countries and never imagined I'd feel this unsafe trying to get home in my own country. How am I supposed to trust a service that I booked specifically to get home safely? Driver name: JAMIL JAHID KHAN.”
“What has been described is deeply concerning and has no place on the Uber platform. Such behaviour violates our Community Guidelines, and we have removed the driver’s access to the Uber app. We stand ready to support law enforcement authorities with any information they may require,” Uber said in an official statement.
Gurugram police said they were trying to contact the woman and would take action as per the law following receipt of her complaint. “We have not yet received a complaint from the woman but have taken cognisance of her social media post and are investigating the matter,” said a senior police officer.
Her post drew widespread reactions on social media, with several users urging her to file a police complaint. Others questioned Uber's customer support system and called for a quicker response to passenger safety concerns.