Published Sep 16, 2024 | 4:51 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 16, 2024 | 4:51 PM
Mutturaj.
Days after a case was charged and the driving license of a Bengaluru auto-rickshaw driver was cancelled for allegedly slapping a woman over a cancelled ride.
“I did not slap the woman. If they prove that I have intentionally slapped them, then I am willing to accept the death sentence as punishment. I have accepted orders from Ola, Uber and Rapido for the past several years. My history is clean,” Mutturaj, the driver who is now out on bail in the case said in a viral video.
He said he got angry with the woman after she kept him waiting for more than five minutes and cancelled his booking after taking another auto-rickshaw.
“I had got a booking from Lulu Mall to Double Road Shantinagar. When I picked up the customer and started moving from Shantinagar, I gave a call to the customer. She asked me to come,” Mutturaj said.
“I reached the location and after two minutes I gave a call. She said that she would arrive in two minutes. I was waiting at the location itself. After five minutes, two women came down. They got into another autorickshaw that was standing nearby,” added Mutturaj.
“I immediately telephoned her (customer). She disconnected and cancelled the ride. I assumed that they were the ones who booked the ride, so I went and questioned them. I also asked the other autorickshaw driver to stop for a few minutes.”
“She replied that it’s her wish and who am I to question her? The one who booked me was different and never spoke a single word with me. The woman who was arguing was a different one. It’s she who had booked another ride.”
“I informed them that I was waiting for the past five minutes. Then, I asked them, if it was appropriate to cancel the ride at that point. She immediately replied that she would file a complaint against me before the police,” Mutturaj said and added that he was not aware of them recording this episode on their phone.
“I believed that they were calling the police over the matter. After two minutes, I learnt that they were recording it. I put my hands on their phone,” the autorickshaw driver said and admitted that he abused the passengers.
Pointing at his concerns with aggregators, he added: “Ola has to provide me with an explanation. If a ride gets cancelled, they won’t give another ride for about 20 minutes. The police and people usually question autorickshaw drivers cancelling the ride on several occasions.”
“Ola will give us rides only within 6.1 km. After we approve the booking and locations, the distance of the ride will be reduced to around two km to 2.5 km. In such cases, we are compelled to cancel orders. Some people book orders and by the time we reach, they cancel the rides.”
“In some cases, a passenger will book three to four different rides at the same time. Out of the eight hours that we are working, two hours are lost daily because of such things. We take at least 30 minutes to complete a two kms ride in this traffic,” highlighted Mutturaj.
“I went to the police station with a clear mind that If I had made a mistake, let them punish me. If I had done wrong, why did I go to the police station? I could have hidden somewhere from the police. I have not abused any woman passenger in the past.”
“My concern is that If customers keep cancelling rides, we won’t get proper rides via the app. This is known to every autorickshaw driver but not to the people. Passengers will have a mindset that cancelling the ride won’t harm much to us,” he added.
He said that his registration with Ola was cancelled two days after the incident. “In the meantime, Rapido also intervened in the matter. If they had any issues, they could have taken up legal route instead of threatening me over the phone.”
“I never ride rashly. I have not charged extra money over a meter price in my service. If anyone complains about me charging extra on social media. I am ready to accept any punishment,” Mutturaj said and alleged that the woman was rude when he enquired about cancelling the ride.
On police action, he said: “When I went to the police, ACP Chandan Kumar was present. He advised me. Then, he said that as the tweet went viral, he got a message from ADGP Alok Kumar to put me in jail. I obeyed their orders.”
“But, they should have verified whether I have slapped them or not. Why they didn’t do it? It will take only two minutes to brand us as thieves. But who will take care of our family? They allege that we did illegal things. When will the government put an end to illegal bike taxis being run in the state?” asked Mutturaj.
“I do not know how to take things forward. I was informed that my driving license and registration with different aggregators have been terminated. I used to run my family through operating autorickshaw,” Muttturaj said and exuded confidence over officials coming to his rescue over the termination of his license.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)
