New Delhi: A routine cab ride in Delhi turned into what a Supreme Court advocate describes as an ordeal of communal intimidation after his Ola driver allegedly boasted about violently assaulting Muslim passengers and narrated the episodes with “striking pride” during the journey.
Saif Mahmood has filed a formal complaint with the ride-hailing company, alleging that the driver repeatedly described incidents in which he claimed to have attacked Muslim passengers, including one episode where he said he beat a man for eating non-vegetarian food in the vehicle.
Calling the episode “deeply shocking”, Mahmood told ThePrint the driver’s remarks amounted to deliberate intimidation directed at him because of his Muslim identity.
The incident occurred on 15 March, when Mahmood booked an Ola ride from Greater Kailash-1 to Max Mueller Bhavan. The driver—identified on the app as “Shri Ram”—was assigned to him.
According to Mahmood, what started as casual small talk—because they were both from Uttar Pradesh—quickly took a disturbing turn when the discussion shifted to the state government and its actions against Muslims, before turning into the driver’s accounts of violence.
“He began proudly narrating an incident in which he claimed to have brutally beaten up a Muslim passenger because the passenger was eating non-vegetarian food in his vehicle,” Mahmood said.
The driver allegedly described how he stopped at a roadside eatery and assaulted the passenger, claiming that others present joined in “beating the man and breaking his legs.”
“The driver recounted the entire episode with striking pride, openly glorifying the violence at every step,” Mahmood said.
He further claimed that the driver narrated another similar incident in Noida, again implying that the victim was Muslim. According to Mahmood, “at multiple points, the driver made remarks that revealed this was a deliberate, targeted display of Islamophobia.”
“He was openly admitting to acts of violence, and at that point, I didn’t know whether he was telling the truth or not. But I felt vulnerable and scared inside the closed space,” he said.
Calling the episode more than just inappropriate behaviour, Mahmood described it as a serious threat.
“These were not random or careless comments… the driver’s sustained glorification of communal violence… constitute a serious act of intimidation,” he added.
The advocate also expressed concern that the remarks were directed at him personally. “Given that he had access to my full name through the booking, the tone, content, and manner of his narration were plainly designed to intimidate me because of my Muslim identity,” he said.
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‘Glorification of communal violence’
At the end of the ride, Mahmood said he informed the driver that he was a lawyer and that he would escalate the matter to Ola.
“He seemed to be taken aback but remained silent,” he said.
In his subsequent complaint, Mahmood sought a detailed response from Ola, questioning the company’s policies on equality and passenger safety. He asked whether the platform “condones, tolerates, or turns a blind eye to the propagation of communal hatred, Islamophobia and the glorification of violence by drivers operating on its platform.”
Ola responded, saying the driver has been suspended.
“We have suspended the driver in question from the Ola platform for their unsafe behaviour. Your safety is our top priority, and we appreciate your feedback,” Ola said in its reply to Mahmood. ThePrint has reviewed the email exchange.
However, Mahmood was not satisfied with the response he received from the company.
He has demanded clarity on the action to be taken against the driver, the company’s non-discrimination policies, and safeguards in place to prevent such incidents.
Mahmood has given the company three days to respond, failing which he indicated he would pursue legal remedies and escalate the matter to the relevant authorities and public forums.
ThePrint has reached out to Ola regarding the incident and the action taken. The report will be updated once a response is received.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)