Uber reinstates driver who took poet to the police station for alleged anti-national activities

New Delhi : Uber, mobile-app based taxi service company, has reinstated one of its drivers who had driven a poet to the police station after suspecting him of indulging in anti-national activities.

Rohit Gour was suspended from his services with an inquiry being ordered in the matter where he had driven one of his customers, poet by profession, to the police station after hearing his phone conversation, allegedly anti-national.

Uber has stated that Gour will now be sent to attend re-sensitisation classes, which focus on good behaviour with customers, driving etiquette etc. Such sessions are a mandatory process each and every driver has to follow before getting the driving permit under the Uber.

“High-quality service is something we strive for every day. Following our internal review and to meet our standards, we enrolled the driver for re-sensitisation of our policies and community guidelines,” said an Uber spokesperson. 

Last Wednesday Gaur was taking Sarkar from Kurla to Juhu when he heard poet talking about the anti-CAA protest and recorded his conversation. The driver then took the car to the nearby police station and asked the available officer to arrest Sarkar based on the anti-national talks he was doing on the phone. Sarkar was questioned by the Mumbai Police and later allowed to leave around 1am.

“We examined what the Uber driver had recorded. We found nothing in our inquiry,’’ said an officer from Santacruz police station. Uber had then limited Gour’s access to the application. “We limit access of the driver [to the app] for a period of 48 to 72 hours while we investigate. This is for the safety of other riders too,” an Uber spokesperson had said. After the incident, the driver was also felicitated by Mumbai BJP) chief Mangal Prabhat Lodha for being an ‘alert citizen’.