Northeast woman in Bengaluru alleges abuse by Uber driver, says ‘he’s trying to hit me, not safe in our own country'

A disturbing incident of alleged discrimination has come to light in Bengaluru, where a woman claimed she was abused by an Uber auto driver because she is from the Northeast. She shared a video on Instagram showing the driver insisting she speak in Kannada—a language she does not know—and even attempting to hit her.

Bengaluru Police have requested more information from the woman, while Uber has issued an apology for the incident.

Enn Bii explained that the confrontation occurred after a ride cancellation on October 2. She said the original driver failed to arrive despite the app showing that her ride had reached. Running late, she cancelled and booked another auto.


Commenting on the incident, Uber said, "What has been described is unfortunate and has no place on the Uber platform. Based on the rider’s feedback, the driver’s access to the Uber app was revoked with immediate effect. We continue to support the law enforcement authorities with all relevant information.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Enn Bii (@ennbii040)

The second driver, identified as Pavan HS, arrived shortly after and blocked her way. “He demanded money, abused me, tried to hit me, and even took videos of me,” Bii alleged.

The situation worsened due to a language barrier, as the driver continued speaking to her in Kannada despite her explaining that she could not understand it, the video showed.

"He's abusing me like this because I'm from the Northeast," Bii said in the video. At one point, she read out the auto's registration number as the driver attempted to strike her. "He's trying to hit me," she cried.

"We are not even safe in our own country," she later wrote on Instagram.

Following her post, Bengaluru Police asked for the location of the incident and her contact details.

Uber stated that the matter has been escalated to a specialised team for review and issued an apology: "This behavior is extremely concerning, and we're so sorry this happened."