Dalit driver’s account suspended for 100 years after fight over casteist slurs
New Delhi: Cab aggregator Rapido has suspended the driver account of a Dalit man in Lucknow for “99 years and 11 months” after he objected to passengers allegedly using casteist slurs, the driver said.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Ankit Kumar, 30, from PGI area, said he picked up four passengers from Utrahtia railway station last Monday. When they made casteist remarks about a railway officer, Kumar asked them to stop. A video of the confrontation went viral, after which Kumar said he received threats and abusive messages.
He stopped the vehicle near Telibagh and asked the passengers to deboard. Kumar alleged the passengers complained to Rapido and his driver ID was suspended without hearing his version.
A screenshot from his app showed a suspension of 99 years and 11 months, effectively a lifetime ban. Kumar, a mechanical engineering diploma holder and sole earner for his family, said he intervened only against the remarks. Rapido had not issued a statement till filing of this report.
