Mumbai: Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2020 Guest Poet Bappadittya Sarkar, Returning From Anti-CAA-NRC Protest, Taken to Police by Uber Cab Driver

Mumbai, February 6: Poet Bappadittya Sarkar, who was returning from an anti-CAA-NRC protest, was allegedly harassed and threatened by a Uber cab driver. According to Bappadittya Sarkar, the Uber driver took him to a police station because he was talking about "protest cultures in different cities, what happened at Shaheen Bagh, people's discomfort with Laal Salaam and how we could make Jaipur's protests more effective". Did Anti-CAA Protesters Burn Pics of Hindu Gods? Fact Check Shows That BJP's Sambit Patra Fell For Fake News.

Sarkar apparently narrated the incident to an activist, Kavita Krishnan who shared screenshots of his messages on Twitter. Sarkar, who arrived in Mumbai to attend Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2020 and was travelling with a friend to Kurla from Mumbai Bagh, said: "My Uber driver stopped and asked if he could use the atm, I enthusiastically agreed. Minutes later, he came back with two policemen and that's when I realised he had gotten me to a police station (sic)." Why Citizenship Amendment Act+NRC Raise Fear And Concerns: A Multi-Dimensional Take.

Sarkar said that while cops were taking his basic details, the driver told them to arrest him. "Sir, you should arrest them. They were talking about burning the country. He (Sarkar) said he is a communist and they will create a Shaheen Bagh in Mumbai. I have a recording of their conversation," Sarkar quoted the driver as saying. Responding to the allegations, the poet told cops to arrest him if they find anything inciting or anti-national in the recording.

According to Sarkar, when he confronted the driver, he replied: "Will we stay silent if you will destroy the country? Be thankful, I took you to a police station. I could have taken you somewhere else." Sarkar said that he was carrying a dafli and police had told him to cover it with a scarf, saying "mahul kharab chal raha hai (situation is not good)". He added that cops were polite with him and let him go after recording his statement.

The Uber driver was identified as Rohit Singh by Kavita Krishnan. Reacting to Krishnan's tweets, Uber India wrote: "This is concerning. We'd like to address this on priority. Kindly share the registered details from which the trip was requested via Direct Message. A member from our safety team will get in touch with you at the earliest." It remains unclear whether the driver was removed from service.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 06, 2020 02:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).