Ola Driver Drops Delhi Journalist Mid-Way, Refuses to Go to Jamia Nagar Calling it 'Muslim Colony'
Strange and deplorable as it may sound, Ashraf has alleged that the driver also threatened him and clearly said that he would not go to Jamia Nagar as it is a Muslim locality. Ola has reportedly fired the driver.
Asad Ashraf, a journalist, had an Ola ride that he will never forget. The journalist booked a cab for his destination only to be left perplexed when he was told to get off the cab mid-way the journey, reason being: the driver refused to go to Ashraf's destination calling it a "Muslim colony." Strange and deplorable as it may sound, Ashraf has alleged that the driver also threatened him and clearly said that he would not go to Jamia Nagar as it is a Muslim locality. Ola has reportedly fired the driver.
In a Facebook post, Ashraf writes what transpired that night between him and the driver, "I picked an OLA from BK Dutt colony, as soon as I gave him the OTP and he figured out that my destination is Jamia Nagar, he started driving and took me to a deserted location and asked me to get out of the car. On asking the reason, the reply was, ' we dont go to Jamia Nagar' and subsequently asked me to get out the car or I will face consequences. When I refused, he started calling up his friends."
The journalist wrote in his post that he raised an emergency alarm and was assured of immediate action but got no response initially. He said that even the police reacted very "casually" and took the written complaint as a mere formality. "The police also took this very casually and went away after taking the written complaint saying that they have other calls to attend", he wrote.
Ola, in response tweeted saying, "Ola, like our country, is a secular platform, and we don't discriminate our driver partners or customers basis their caste, religion, gender or creed. We urge all our customers and driver partners to treat each other with respect at all times." The cab hailing services company even fired and suspended the driver for his bigotry to restore the faith of customers. In an earlier incident, the cab company had lectured a customer who refused to take a cab and cancelled the ride saying that he did not want to ride in a cab driven by a Muslim.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 18, 2018 06:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).