New Delhi: The Uber driver who reported poet-activist Bappadittya Sarkar to the Mumbai police because he was speaking about the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act has been reinstated by the cab aggregator on Tuesday. He was suspended for up to 72 hours while the company was conducting an internal review about the incident.
The driver, Rohit Gour, was driving Sarkar from Kurla to Juhu last week, when he overheard the poet talk about anti-CAA protests. The driver recorded his conversation and then took Sarkar to the Santacruz police station, reporting him for ‘anti-national activities’. Sarkar was questioned by the Mumbai Police and later allowed to leave.
Gour was suspended by Uber during the period it was conducting an inquiry. The company has decided to send him to attend “re-sensitisation classes”, according to Hindustan Times. The classes will help him behave well with customers and instruct him on driving etiquette. According to reports, the classes are mandatory for all drivers before they start working for Uber and Gour will be asked to attend them again.
Also Read: Mumbai: Uber Driver Takes Customer to Police Station for Talking About Anti-CAA Protests
“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,” an Uber spokesperson told HT.
“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,” the spokesperson said.
While civil society activists said the incident represents thought policing, the BJP’s Mumbai chief Mangal Prabhat Lodha felicitated Gour for being an ‘alert citizen’.
While the police said they did not find anything suspicious in the recordings made by Gour, they reportedly advised Sarkar not to carry a dafli or wear a red scarf “as the atmosphere is not good and anything can happen”.