A 33-year-old businessman from Hyderabad was allegedly attacked with an iron rod by the driver of an Ola cab he was travelling by in Bengaluru. According to a report in The Times of India, the men came to blows over controlling the air-conditioning levels inside the car, in which the man was travelling with two friends.
G Keshava Reddy, who has now filed a criminal complaint against the absconding driver Syed Arif, claimed that one of his friends had asked him to reduce the AC during the ride to St Marks Road from Yeshwantpur in the city.
As Arif was busy speaking on his cell phone and seemed to have not heard the request, Reddy leaned over to adjust the knob of the AC control. At this point, the driver exploded in a fit of rage, slapping his hand away and turned violent.
Reddy said the row turned bitter as Arif started abusing the Telugu-speakers and their culture, forcing the passengers to get off the car with the intention of booking another ride. Things went further downhill from there as Arif emerged from the cab bearing an iron rod and tried to attack the fleeing passengers.
While his friends managed to escape, Reddy fell down and was hit viciously by Arif, who sped away after leaving him injured. Reddy was taken to a hospital by his friends in an auto rickshaw in Malleshwaram. A complaint was filed at Sadashivnagar police station.
Ola Cabs told HuffPost India that the driver has been blacklisted upon receiving a complaint against him.
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