Most of us have been through episodes where belligerent taxi drivers have refused to take us to our destinations citing the silliest of reasons. A foreign tourist recently went through the same turmoil, but unlike many of us, he took the cab driver (who overcharged him) for a ride instead, by taking up the issue with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
On April 11th 2015, Singapore citizen Raymond Yeo hailed a taxi from his hotel, the Lalit for the International airport, barely a km away. The cab driver refused to ply by the meter and ended up asking him for a fare of INR 200. Raymond, who was in a hurry to leave, agreed and went ahead with the decision. When the taxi reached the airport, the driver, identified later as Jamil Ahmad Khan, demanded a fare of INR 500. The reason behind the sudden hike in fare was cited due to the 2 suitcases carried by Raymond that were termed as excessive baggage.
As Raymond entered the airport, he searched online for registering a complaint and then decided to take up the matter with the PMO. He was quoted saying that his friends in India told him that such incidents are quite common and no one reports them. The complaint recently reached the office of the Maharashtra transport commissioner who then tracked down the driver of the taxi.
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A popular social activist, with the help of some volunteers, managed to trace the owner of the vehicle. It was then seized by the RTO officials as Raymond had noted down the registration number of the vehicle. The incident resulted in the suspension of Khan’s license while the permit of the taxi was withdrawn for a period of 30 days. Reports suggest that a consideration is in place for cancelling the permit permanently.
Source: Mumbai mirror
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