A woman from the Northeast region of India has shared a disturbing account of harassment she faced from an Uber auto-rickshaw driver in Bengaluru, prompting public outrage and responses from both city authorities and the ride-hailing platform.
The incident, which occurred on October 2 around 7 pm, began when the woman, who identifies herself on Instagram as Enn Bii, booked an Uber auto that showed “arrived” on the app. Despite multiple calls and sharing her exact location, the driver failed to appear. Due to time constraints, she cancelled the ride and boarded another auto.
However, she claimed that soon after her new ride began, the original driver, identified as Pavan HS, appeared suddenly and stopped her vehicle. According to her, he became aggressive, demanded payment for the cancelled ride, and began to verbally abuse her. “He demanded money, started abusing, and even tried to hit me and even took videos of me as soon as he stepped out of his vehicle,” her Instagram post read.
Woman Shares Incident on Instagram
The woman recorded the confrontation on video and posted it to Instagram, where she detailed what had happened. She alleged that the man refused to communicate in any language other than Kannada, despite being informed that she couldn’t understand it. “He was speaking in the local language, which I couldn’t understand. I requested him to speak in common Hindi, but he refused,” she stated.
In the video, she is seen clearly distressed, saying, “He’s abusing me like this because I’m from the Northeast.” As the situation intensified, she read out the auto’s number plate aloud while the man allegedly attempted to strike her. “He’s trying to hit me,” she cried out.
In her post, she added, “Uber drivers behaving this way is shocking. We are not even safe in our own country. Please, someone take action for our safety.” She said the confrontation escalated after she refused to pay for a service that was never rendered and that she felt targeted due to her ethnic background.
Driver Filmed Woman While Abusing Her, Backed Off When Recorded
The clip she uploaded also showed the driver recording her while hurling abuse, despite her being seated in a different auto at the time. “The driver even recorded my video while I was sitting in another vehicle, and only stepped back when I began filming him,” she noted.
The Bengaluru City Police, responding to her post, requested more details, including the location of the incident and her contact number to proceed with an inquiry. They replied to her Instagram video and encouraged her to share information for further investigation.
Uber, on its part, confirmed that the matter has been escalated to a specialised internal team. In a public statement, the company apologised and said, “This behaviour is extremely concerning, and we’re so sorry this happened and we are currently investigating.”
The incident has drawn widespread attention online, especially among communities from the Northeast who often speak out against racial profiling and linguistic discrimination. Many social media users have rallied behind Bii, calling for urgent action and stronger passenger safety protocols.
