New Delhi Taxi Driver Sacked for Allegedly Masturbating in Front of Female Passenger
Indian ride-sharing app TaxiForSure has found itself in hot water this week, after a female passenger allegedly caught one of the company's drivers masturbating while transporting her across the Indian capital city of New Delhi. The woman described the incident, as well as the driver's rash driving and generally vulgar behavior, in great detail on social media. According to her Facebook post, she had to request him multiple times to reduce the volume of the music he was playing, and said he "got impatient and started driving brashly." The woman was about to make a phone call when she noticed he barely had his hands on the wheel and was masturbating. "He had a smile on his face that will haunt me for nights to come," the post continues. The woman reportedly called Ola Cabs, the Bangalore-based taxi aggregator that bought TaxiForSure earlier this year, and was redirected to the latter's customer service line where she was told that action against the driver would be taken within 24 hours. TaxiForSure, one of Uber's main competitors in India, has since fired the driver. "We regret the experience the passenger had, and we condemn the driver's actions," the company told TIME in an emailed statement. "The driver in question has been blacklisted by us and his services have been terminated from the platform. We will continue to work closely with the passenger and will support her and the authorities in every possible manner, as and when required.", The incident comes a few months after another driver in New Delhi, representing San Francisco-based taxi-app giant Uber, was accused of raping a female passenger. He denies the charge and the trial is ongoing.