Kochi: Noted playback singer Sayanora Philip was caught in a tiff between Uber and prepaid autorickshaw drivers who asked her to get out of the cab which she had hired to go home after reaching the Ernakulam North railway station early on Friday. In a Facebook post which went viral, the singer narrated the story of the harrowing experiences she faced when she reached the railway station at 3 am by train and sought an Uber cab to her house at Panampilly Nagar. The pre-paid auto drivers intercepted the vehicle after she entered it and asked her to get down.
She refused and insisted on travelling in the hired cab even as the drivers threatened the Uber driver and even tried to manhandle him. After a ruckus for over half an hour, she managed to travel in the taxi to her house. Later, she lodged a complaint with the inspector general of Ernakulam Range S. Sreejith and based on his direction a case was lodged at the Ernakulam North police station. “We’ve taken a case under Section 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), Section 294 (B) use of obscene word, Section 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code Act (criminal act done by several persons with common intention) against three autodrivers,” police said.
“I arrived in the Malabar Express and booked a Uber cab to avoid bargaining with the taxi drivers who used to charge Rs 500 to travel to Panampilly Nagar…The drivers held on to the collar and seat belt of driver Hamid saying I cannot book the service from inside the railway station…,” the playback singer posted. “They did not even consider that I was travelling alone and that too in the wee hours. I said I will not go outside. Is there any government rule preventing Uber and Ola taxi drivers from entering railway stations?…,” she asked.
