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In a shocking incident last month in Delhi, Kiran Verma, founder of Simply Blood, has accused an Ola cab driver of slapping him in the presence of his 6-year-old son.
The confrontation, detailed in a LinkedIn post by Verma on March 1, unfolded when he and his son booked an Ola cab to pick someone up from the airport. Verma's account of the incident has sparked widespread outrage on social media.
According to Verma, the driver demanded the ride be canceled and insisted on a cash payment, leading to a dispute.
Verma narrated, "The driver asked me to cancel the ride and pay him in cash. I denied and with unwanting will, he started the trip. He took a completely opposite direction from our house and when I said he replied ‘there’s a traffic jam’. We haven’t even gone a kilometre when he stops the car and asks me to pay extra or else pay whatever comes in that ride."
The situation escalated when Verma refused to comply with the driver's demands and attempted to take a photo of him, leading to Verma being slapped.
"Meanwhile, when I refused to pay him, I clicked his picture with my bag. He came out and slapped me," Verma stated. A bystander, another cab driver, intervened to prevent further violence.
Despite reaching out to Ola's helpline and the police, Verma said that he faced disappointment over the lack of action from Ola, stating that his complaint was closed within an hour without any resolution. He also highlighted the traumatic impact of the incident on his son, saying, "My son was so shocked that night that he cried out loud as soon as we reached home."
Verma's LinkedIn post
"Since the guy started shouting without any reason, my 6 years son got scared and asked me to leave the car. I couldn’t see my son so scared and thought to calm him down. I dialed security helpline from the hashtag#OlaApp instantly and called Police Helpline. Me and my son was standing outside, and this guy took my bag. Meanwhile when I refused to pay him and click his picture with my bag. He came out and slapped me," he wrote.
"There was a gentleman going (another cab driver) he came and stopped. I never used any abusing language as I was on the call with hashtag#OlaHelpline. I challenge Ola and all the people of Ani Technologies Private Limited(Ola Cabs.Com) to share the voice recording of that call," he said.
"Later I took my son to a bench on footpath and was still on call with the helpline guy of ANI Technologies PVT LTD. The guy over phone suggested me not to pay or talk to the driver and that’s what I did. This triggered the driver as he was listening the call over loudspeaker and again slapped me. But then the another driver stopped him. The driver took two goons along with him (maybe they had some plans to loot) but since there were 3-4 people by that time. All three ran (other two were on bike)."
"I called hashtag#UPPolice and they came on the spot. But that was of no use. The driver who saved me took me to the airport and told me that no action will be taken on driver. Whereas Uber suspends such drivers and blacklists them. I was thinking to even expect a call from Ola but till date not even a single call from their side. The car number of this driver is HR55AP7649 and the complaint ticket number is 385689225 SHOCKINGLY the complaint was closed by Ola company in less than an hour and till date no action has been taken. My son was so shocked that night that he cried out loud as soon as we reached home," he added.
The incident has led to a flood of support for Verma and criticism of Ola, with many social media users sharing their own negative experiences with the company.
Netizens reactions
"I remember when I had an issue with an Ola driver a few years back, the only thing Ola call centre people were keen on was on to stop me from registering a police complaint against the driver," user wrote.
I Stopped using Ola 2 years ago. Their service is terrible, they are hiring goons as drivers these days. Once, a driver asked me to pay him directly instead of paying through Ola App. I was in a rush, so I paid him around Rs.700 through Gpay. He didn't update the payment on the Ola App. After few hours when I called him to update the status, he DENIED. I reached out to customer service, Despite showing them the screenshot and filing a complaint, Ola didn't help. The dues increased to Rs.1200 due to the delay. Then, I started receiving over 50 threatening calls from Ola every day. At first, I explained the situation on each call, but eventually, I gave up and uninstalled the Ola app. I am happy using Uber now," another wrote.