Uber accident death: Transport minister cracks down on babus, aggregator

Transport Minister Diwakar Raote going through mid-dayu00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0099s reports during the high-level meeting at Sahyadri Guesthouse on Friday. Pic/Suresh Karkera

Taking serious cognisance of the series of reports in mid-day on Uber's blunders and accidents, state transport minister Diwakar Raote called a high-level meeting on Friday to discuss the issue. The meeting at Sahyadri Guesthouse, Malabar Hill, was attended by Principal Secretary (Transport) Ashish Kumar Singh, Joint Transport Commissioner P V Mahajan, and other senior government officials.

mid-day's reports
Raote became increasingly agitated as he went through the set of reports in mid-day about 35-year-old Tanzila Shaikh who died after the Uber car she was in crashed at Bhandup on June 14, 2018, and Uber washing its hands off the case. The driver, Inderjeet Singh Bhatti, too, was let off with a mere fine. Raote also took cognizance of two other reports in mid-day highlighting the condition of Reza Abid Ali, who has been comatose for the last 620 days after an Uber accident, as well as of the Malad resident who was left standing by an Uber driver, who had switched on the ride and billed the hapless passenger despite not ferrying him. The minister has directed transport officials to take serious action against the drivers concerned under the Motor Vehicle Act.

Raote said, "How could they [aggregators] get away with shrugging off responsibility for the act that claimed an innocent life and moreover how could the transport ommissioner's office not even take suo motu action under the Motor Vehicle Act against the driver responsible, especially when the accident happened on June 14?" Raote then asked Mahajan about the provisions under the law, especially under the Motor Vehicle Act, where action can be initiated against both the aggregator as well as the driver/driver partner. Mahajan stated that there are provisions under the MV Act, where action can be taken against both. And, against the aggregator concerned, he stated that the matter was pending before the High Court.

Why no action taken?
Raote then asked if there were provisions under the MV Act, then why was no action initiated till now (the accident happened on June 14), and inquired about the name of the officer responsible for taking such action suo motu. Raote directed Mahajan and asked Singh to ensure that a show-cause notice was issued to the officer concerned for not taking action.

"I have taken serious note of the incidents reported in your paper and have given specific instructions to the officials concerned. Also, directions have been given to ensure that appropriate action under the Motor Vehicle Act is taken against the drivers concerned. We will be using all reports that have appeared in mid-day and other publications on the issue of aggregators and will move the Bombay High Court, requesting it to expedite the hearing, as it is in the larger interest of the common man," said Raote.

The state transport department has been working on tightening the noose on private aggregators by bringing them under the ambit of the Maharashtra City Taxi Rules 2017, which covers all issues pertaining to safety, security, licensing of drivers and permits, surcharge fares, CNG fitted vehicles, uniform colour for identification, etc. The aggregators had moved HC and got a stay on this, arguing that they are registered under the national permit norms and therefore the state acts are not binding on them. The matter is pending before court.

Also read: No one from Uber even said sorry, says wife of man who was left comatose in cab accident

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