KARACHI: The Karachi police booked and arrested the driver of a ride-hailing service on the report of a family who complained about a mid-ride brawl a couple days ago.
The incident has gained widespread attention on social media platforms.
According to reports, a tweet surfaced on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, where a female journalist raised concerns about an altercation involving herself and a captain of a ride-hailing service. She also criticized the police’s handling of the situation for allegedly refusing to register her FIR against the driver.
Pakistan Today reached out to the journalist who tweeted about the incident involving the online company’s driver. According to her account, she was traveling from Gulistan Johar to Korangi around 6 pm on Sunday, using an online ride-hailing application.
When the ride was passing through Shahra-e-Faisal, she requested a stop at a local store for some shopping. However, the driver refused to comply and began behaving rudely towards her and her family.
During the ensuing argument, the driver stopped the car, forcibly removed her brother from the vehicle, and proceeded to assault him. Despite her attempts to intervene, the driver continued to inflict severe injuries on her brother, the lady claimed.
Following the incident, she went to the police station to file an FIR, but had to return home after the police did not heed her complaint.
On Monday, the police apprehended the accused driver and summoned the lady for further legal proceedings. Subsequently, the Bahadrabad Police registered an FIR against the driver and detained him.
Sarwar Commando, the SHO of Bahadrabad Police, told Pakistan Today that the FIR was not immediately registered due to the lady’s state of panic, which hindered her ability to provide details regarding the incident.
Meanwhile, the lady contacted the management of the ride-hailing company, who promptly apologized and suspended the captain pending further investigation.
In a conversation with this scribe, the accused driver denied the allegations levelled by the lady, claiming that her brother initiated the fight and he only acted in self-defense.
