Uber Auto Driver Harasses Journalist Passenger: Will Women Ever Feel Safe In Delhi?

In yet another disappointing news coming in from Delhi, an Uber auto driver allegedly harassed a female passenger during a ride in Delhi's southeast area.

The reports state that the journalist, a resident of Bharat Nagar, complained to the New Friends Colony police station on Thursday evening. As stated by the police, on Wednesday at around 4.40 p.m., she claimed that Uber driver Vinod Kumar Yadav had engaged in sexual conduct and vulgar staring as she was going from New Friends Colony to Malviya Nagar.

According to sources, the Delhi Police has detained a 24-year-old Uber auto-rickshaw driver for reportedly harassing a female journalist during a trip in southeast Delhi.

Uber Auto Driver Harasses Passenger

She accused him of lewd behaviour and lewd staring at her on March 1 at 4.40 p.m. when she was travelling from New Friends Colony to Malviya Nagar. Therefore, a complaint was filed under the appropriate IPC provisions, and an investigation was started, according to a senior police officer.

According to Rajesh Deo, Deputy Commissioner of police for the southeast, a case has been filed and an inquiry has begun under section 509 of the IPC (words, gestures, or acts designed to offend a woman's modesty).

The city police and the cab aggregator company have been sent a notice by the Delhi Commission for Women after it was informed of a complaint regarding the incident.

The women's panel has asked for a report on actions taken by March 6. The panel has asked Uber to provide information on the steps taken to ensure that incidents like this don't happen again and whether or not the police have confirmed the identity of the suspected automobile driver.

On Wednesday, the incident took place and the journalist posted a video of it on social media. The female journalist described her experience on Twitter, claiming that the auto-rickshaw driver, Vinod Kumar, began inappropriately staring at her through the side mirrors of the vehicle, 'precisely at my breasts,' as she travelled from her home in New Friends Colony to Malviya Nagar to visit her friend. She narrated her ordeal in a tweet mentioning how she threatened to call the police on him if he misbehaved again and, to her shock, the driver unapologetically dared her to make the call.

Suggested reading: Maharashtra Girl Jumps Out Of Speeding Auto To Escape Sexual Harassment