An Uber driver in Hyderabad has alleged that a group of men robbed him and forced him to chant “Jai Shri Ram”, the Deccan Chronicle reported.
The incident reportedly occurred on Sunday near the Tolichowki area. The cab driver, Syed Lateefuddin, said that it was his first day on the job.
The driver said that he accepted a ride in the Alkapuri area and was going there with the help of a map. He added that when he slowed down near Tolichowki, a group of six men stopped near his car and hit his vehicle with their hands. Two of the men were on a bike and four others on a scooter, he said.
“I rolled down the window to ask them what the issue was,” Lateefuddin said, according to the Deccan Chronicle. “Upon noticing my accent, the men, who were drunk, asked me to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and started to pull my door open.”
The Uber driver said that he subsequently pulled back the door and drove away, after which the men followed him for about three kilometres. Lateefuddin said that he then fled the vehicle and hid himself in nearby bushes, The News Minute reported. He then reportedly called the police.
According to Lateefuddin, the men damaged the vehicle severely before the police arrived.
Narsingi Station House Officer V Shiva Kumar said that the police are checking all the close-circuit television cameras along the route that the driver took.
An unidentified police official told the Deccan Chronicle that Lateefuddin’s allegation about being asked to chant “Jai Shri Ram” could only be ascertained after an investigation.
“We suspect that an incident of road rage might have led to them asking the driver to chant,” the official said. “It will be clarified once we identify and arrest the men.”
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