Gurgaon: The Uber driver, who allegedly threatened a woman, physically restrained her and followed her to her home over a fare dispute, was arrested on Wednesday after police took suo motu cognizance of her social media post. “Teams from Palam Vihar police station and the Sector 39 crime branch used technical assistance to identify the accused — Yasir (26) from Nuh’s Ghasera village — and gather information about him before arresting him,” police spokesperson Sandeep Turan said. TOI had reported the incident on Wednesday.Police said preliminary investigation revealed that Yasir had created his Uber account using the name Jamil Jahid Khan, the name mentioned by the woman in her post on X. The woman, a software engineer and artificial intelligence professional, had posted that the driver demanded Rs 1,479 against the fare of around Rs 625 displayed on her Uber app for a ride from Delhi airport to the city. She alleged that when she refused to pay the higher amount, the driver misbehaved with her and threatened to kill her. The incident sparked concern on social media, with users urging the police to take action and calling for stronger measures to protect passengers.According to the police, the matter came to their notice during social media monitoring. Police attempted to contact the woman through X before taking suo motu cognizance and registering an FIR on the basis of her post. In her account of the incident, the woman said the confrontation took place around 4.45am after she booked the Uber cab from Delhi airport for what she described as a 20-minute ride. The app showed a fare of approximately Rs 625, but the driver allegedly demanded Rs 1,479 after showing her a screenshot of a fare quote from Rapido.She said she paid the fare displayed on the Uber app, following which the driver allegedly locked the car and refused to let her retrieve her luggage unless she paid the higher amount. She alleged that he held her arm, followed her to her residence, forced the gate and threatened her life. The woman also raised concerns over her inability to access Uber’s safety support option while trying to report the incident. She later said Uber had contacted her and confirmed that the driver had been barred from the platform.“We were committed to ensuring women’s safety and that strict legal action would be taken against anyone found involved in acts that threaten or compromise women’s safety,” Turan added.The provisions, under which the accused has been arrested, relate to assault or use of criminal force against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty (Section 74), words, gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman (Section 79), punishment for wrongful restraint (Section 126(2)), wrongful confinement (Section 127), punishment for assault or criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation (Section 131), criminal intimidation (Section 351(2)) and the right of private defence of body and property (Section 35) of BNS.
