Woman journalist claims harassment by Uber driver in Delhi

New Delhi: A woman journalist with a leading media house alleged that she was sexually harassed by an Uber auto-rickshaw driver during a ride from her residence to her friend's place in southeast Delhi.

The Delhi Commission for Women said it has received a complaint in the matter and has issued a notice to the city police and the cab aggregator firm. The woman said she would approach police soon.

Taking to Twitter, the woman narrated her ordeal. The incident happened on Wednesday when she boarded an auto-rickshaw from her residence in New Friends Colony to Malviya Nagar to visit her friend.

"I took an auto from my home to a friend's place. After a while, I noticed that the driver was looking at me through the side mirrors of the auto, precisely at my breasts. I shifted a bit towards right and wasn't visible in the left side mirror," she said in a tweet from her Twitter handle @javaidarfa_.

"He then started looking into the right side of the mirror. I then shifted to the extreme left and wasn't visible in any of the mirrors. He then started looking back again and again to see me. I first tried using the safety feature of @uber, but to no avail," she said in another tweet.

She said that the first time she dialled the number, the audio wasn't clear.

When she confronted the driver and told him that she would raise a complaint, his response was "go ahead".

"I then redialled the number but couldn't hear the audio due to poor network," she alleged.

She said she did not cancel the ride as it was a short one.

When contacted, she told PTI that she has made a complaint with the Delhi Commission for Women and the concerned cab aggregator firm.

"I was contacted by Uber support after several hours and filed my complaint," she said.

When contacted, police said they have not received any formal complaint in the matter yet.

In the notice issued to the Delhi Police, the women's panel has sought an action taken report by March 6. In its notice to Uber, the panel has sought details of steps taken to ensure such incidents do not happen and whether the accused auto driver had been verified by police.