Hyderabad: The Telangana State Cabs & Bus Operators Association TSCBOA on Wednesday demanded stern action against those involved in attack on cab and auto-rickshaw drivers in Hyderabad and its outskirts. The demand has been made in response to an attack on a Muslim cab driver who as attacked by miscreants after he refused to chant ‘Jai Shree Ram’ when they stopped him.
“There has been a rise in attacks on cab drivers in different parts of Hyderabad and its outskirts. While some incidents of grievous nature where victims are lodging police complaints are getting noticed, many incidents go unnoticed. The cab drivers are being beaten or threatened by some unruly passengers over minor disputes like payment mode or lack of change,” TSCBOA President Syed Nizamuddin said in a media statement.
The TSCBOA president said that many Ola and Uber drivers have complained of sporadic incidents of physical assaults on them by some unruly passengers. “Since neither the drivers nor their management does a proper follow-up, the attackers go scot-free,” he alleged.
Tow day ago, a Muslim cab driver was attacked in Alkapuri Colony under the Narsingi Police Station limits. Nizamuddin said that the driver was not only attacked by a gang, but that he was also robbed of cash. “A similar attack took place in the second week of August in Rajendranagar police limits wherein the driver was brutally beaten up by a group of youngsters,” Nizamuddin said.
Syed Nizamuddin said that the TSCBOA is planning to start a 24×7 Helpline to deal with cases of attacks on cab and auto drivers. He added that the modalities of the proposed Helpline would be finalised at the general body meeting of the TSCBOA to be held in the third week of September.
Six arrested for attack
The city police on Monday reportedly arrested six persons for allegedly attacking a cab driver in Alkapur under the limits of the Narsingi Police station of the Cyberabad police.
In the incident that occurred in the early hours of Sunday, the cab driver, Syed Lateefuddin, was chased by a group of six persons on motorcycles when he was on his way to pick up a passenger. He alleged that they forced him to stop the car and then asked him to chant ‘Jai Shree Ram’. When he refused, they attacked his car with boulders.
Luckily, Lateefuddin, a resident of Chandrayangutta in the old city, escaped to save himself and dialed 100 around 4 a.m. Police personnel reached the spot an hour later. Later, the victim, along with Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) leader Amjedullah Khan Khalid, approached the police and lodged a complaint.
A case under Sections 341 (wrongful restraint) and 295 (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered at Narsingi Police Station.
