The woman said her hair was torn and her face and hands were scratched by the other passenger in Uber.
Highlights
- Journalist said her face and hands were scratched by co-passenger
- Co-passenger was furious that she was getting dropped last, she said
- She claimed Uber did not cooperate with the police
A journalist from Mumbai has alleged that she was attacked by a co-passenger in a shared Uber cab and the company did not cooperate with the police when they started investigation on the matter. The company later said the incident was "deeply upsetting" and they have "reached out to law enforcement authorities to offer any information that could be helpful in their proceedings".
In a series of tweets and a Facebook post, Ushnota Paul said she was verbally abused and then attacked by the other woman, whose complaint was that she was paying the most and still getting dropped last. The journalist said she was targetted when she tried to defend the driver.
Initially, the woman called her names and then "she went completely racist", Ms Paul alleged.
Picture shared by journalist Ushnota Paul of her hair which she said, were pulled and torn off by her Uber co-passenger.
But Uber, Ms Paul alleged, had refused to give details of the other passenger even when she filed a complaint with the police.
In another tweet, she said, "Uber won't do anything when it comes to my safety. If they don't respect what the Mumbai Police are saying to them, I am a mere civilian and definitely I am not safe."
Journalist Ushnota Paul shared the picture of her hand, which she said were scratched by her co-passenger.
Uber got panned on Twitter by many, who criticised it for refusing to offer information. Many said the firm cooperates only when the assailant is a man. In the evening, the company responded on the journalist's tweet thread.
A spokesperson from Uber said, "What's been described today is deeply upsetting and is completely against our community guidelines. The co-rider in question cannot access the app."
Reiterating that they had reached out to law enforcement authorities, Uber said they "stand ready to support their investigation into this incident".
In December last year, the issue of women's safety in app-based cabs was taken up by the Supreme Court, which asked the Centre for suggestions on the matter. The court asked if it was possible to have a regulatory mechanism to check sexual harassment in app-based taxies like Uber and Ola. The case is pending in the court.