The Delhi Police is looking for an Uber auto-rickshaw driver after a journalist alleged that she was sexually harassed by him during a ride from New Friends Colony to Malviya Nagar on Thursday, ANI reported.
On Thursday, Delhi Commission for Women’s chairperson Swati Maliwal said that a notice had been issued to Uber India and Delhi Police over the incident in Delhi. “Notice has been issued to Uber India and Delhi Police over the unfortunate incident of molestation of a female journalist in an Uber Auto in Delhi. Information has also been sought about the steps taken by Uber for the safety of women,” she tweeted.
Police officials told ANI on Friday that efforts are being made to nab the accused and a case had been filed under IPC section 509 at the NFC police station based on the journalist’s complaint. “She levelled allegations of indecent behaviour as well as lascivious staring by him, while she was travelling from NFC to Malviya Nagar on 01.03.23 at about 4.40 pm,” read a police statement.
The journalist told ANI that she was on her way to her friend’s place in Malviya Nagar when she realised “that the auto driver was staring at me in the left side mirror. My breasts were visible in the mirror and he was looking at me. I became uncomfortable and shifted towards my right. However, he changed his position and started looking at me in the right-side mirror.”
“After this, I moved to the extreme left corner so that I was not visible to him but he turned back and started looking at me. I threatened him and said that I would complain and surprisingly he did not object. So I opened the Uber App and clicked on a number on the app. However, due to a fluctuating network, I could not contact them so I called on the number once again. This time as well I was unable to contact the company due to various glitches on the app.”
She said the DCW swung into action after she tweeted about the incident on Thursday. “What if the incident happened during the night? The Uber app did not work. There should be a proper system and they should have called me back. When I raised my voice against the incident, the company contacted me.”
Newslaundry is a reader-supported, ad-free, independent news outlet based out of New Delhi. Support their journalism, here.
