Cab driver calls police, after overhearing passenger's phone conversation against CAA
Mumbai: A phone discussion about the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protest allegedly led a poet-activist being taken to police station by a cab driver here on Wednesday night.
Secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association Kavita Krishnan tweeted about the incident, allegedly involving poet Bappadittya Sarkar on Thursday.
Sarkar himself could not be contacted to verify the account.
As per a purported statement by Sarkar, tweeted by Krishnan, he took an Uber cab from Juhu to Kurla around 10.30 pm on Wednesday.
During the journey he was discussing with his friend on mobile phone people's discomfort with `Laal Salaam' slogan at Shaheen Bagh protest in Delhi.
The driver, who was listening, stopped the cab and told Sarkar he wanted to withdraw money from ATM.
When the driver returned, he had two policemen with him, who allegedly asked Sarkar why he was carrying a `Dafli' (a percussion instrument), and also asked him his address.
Sarkar, as per the statement tweeted by Krishnan, told them that he was from Jaipur, and had visited the anti- CAA `Mumbai Bagh' protest in the city for "sloganeering" earlier in the day.
The driver allegedly asked the police to take him in custody for "he was saying he was a communist and was talking about burning the country". The driver also claimed he had recorded the phone talk.
Sarkar was then taken to the police station, the statement said, without specifying which station it was. Sarkar requested the police to listen to the conversation and verify the driver's claim.
The driver allegedly said to him, "You people will destroy the country and do you expect that we will seat looking at you." Sarkar should be thankful that he took him to police station and not somewhere else, the driver allegedly added.
The police asked him about his ideology and "the people he read", the statement further said. The police were polite with him and asked both him and the driver to record their statements, it added. Around 1 am, communist activist S Gohil reached the police station after which Sarkar was allowed to go, the statement added.
The police advised Sarkar not to carry the Dafli or wear a red scarf, "as the atmosphere is not good and anything can happen", according to the statement tweeted by Krishnan.
Krishnan further said in a tweet that this incident was a "glimpse of scary India under NPR NRC CAA, where every person will be incentivised to suspect and turn in others and police can harass everyone". She also tagged Mumbai Police and Uber.
"We have followed you. Please share the exact details of case in DM," the police said in a reply to her tweet.
Twitter handle `Uber India Support' said the incident was "concerning". "We'd like to address this on priority. Kindly share the registered details from which the trip was requested," it said.
Last night, poet @Bappadittoh had a scary episode in Mumbai, at the hands of an @Uber driver and @MumbaiPolice cops (see screenshots): a glimpse of scary India under NPR NRC CAA, where every person will be incentivised to suspect & turn in others & police can harass everyone. pic.twitter.com/OOKUB58BxK
— Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) February 6, 2020
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Shocked by PM’s remarks on Shakti scheme causing loss to metro: Shivakumar
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday said that he is "shocked" by the reported statement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the "Shakthi scheme had resulted in loss of revenue for the Bengaluru metro".
Under the 'Shakti' scheme implemented by the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government, women can avail free travel in state-run buses.
Hitting out at Modi, the state deputy chief minister said that the prime minister lacks information on the Shakthi scheme and hence he has said that it has impacted revenues of the Bengaluru metro.
"Namma metro has earned a revenue of Rs 130 crore in the last one year. Footfalls too have gone up by 30 per cent for the same period. Bengaluru metro is limited to Bengaluru, while the Shakthi scheme is rolled out, keeping in mind people from across the state," he told reporters here.
The Shakthi scheme is rolled out by the Congress to ease the burden of price rise and inflation on women, Shivakumar said.
"Metro is a joint initiative between the State and the Centre and it has done well over the last one year. Someone seems to have provided incorrect information to the prime minister," he added.
"I would like to convey to the PM that the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Bengaluru metro are being run efficiently while offering the Shakthi scheme to women. Women are taking 60 lakh trips per day in Karnataka. They are very happy with the Shakthi scheme. Many other states are expressing interest in Shakthi scheme," he said.
PM Modi has reportedly spoken in an interview on bus and the Metro rail services and whether or not he made a specific reference to Karnataka is not known.
When asked if there was a shortage of buses in North Karnataka, Shivakumar said, "We have already taken a decision to buy 1,000 new buses. Of these, 100 buses have been allocated to Ramanagara district. Buses will be allocated to North Karnataka as well.
"We are not looking at making profits from KSRTC. We are only ensuring it doesn’t make losses. The government is reimbursing the cost of tickets under the Shakthi scheme," he said.
