Rapido suspends Lucknow driver for 99 years after he objects to casteist slurs

Lucknow: Rapido has allegedly suspended a 30-year-old cab driver in Lucknow for 99 years and 11 months after he confronted four Indian Railway officials for using casteist slurs during a ride and asked them to get out of his vehicle.

The driver, Ankit Kumar, who belongs to the Chamar (Dalit) community, said the passengers were speaking ill of their senior officer, also a Dalit, and repeatedly used casteist remarks linking the officer’s competence to his caste. Ankit said he requested them several times to stop, but they continued, after which he stopped the cab near Telibagh market and asked all four to deboard. A video of the confrontation later went viral on social media.

In a subsequent video, Ankit claimed that Rapido suspended his account without hearing his side, and that the suspension period shown on the app was “99 years and 11 months”.

He said the company should have at least asked him what had happened before taking action, and that the suspension has hit his livelihood hard as he is the sole earner in his family. He added that he had no personal animosity towards the railway officials and that his anger stemmed from their allegedly casteist conversation against one of their own officers.