A driver for ride-sharing app Uber was arrested Monday night for allegedly masturbating while ferrying a 25-year-old woman through the eastern Indian city of Kolkata earlier this month.
News of the incident comes weeks after a female passenger in the Indian capital New Delhi made a similar allegation against a driver working for TaxiForSure, one of Uber’s main competitors in the country.
In a statement regarding the Kolkata incident, Uber spokesman Karun Arya told TIME that, on getting word of the allegation, the company immediately contacted the passenger and suspended the driver, who was contracted to work for the online taxi service. Uber also helped the local authorities in Kolkata with their investigation.
“The rider was satisfied with our immediate assistance and action,” Arya said, adding that the passenger in question continues to use the taxi service.
Uber said the driver’s papers were in order, and he had cleared an independent background check. The incident took place on July 8, when the passenger noticed that the driver was “masturbating with one hand and driving with the other,” the Indian Express reports.
Citing the passenger, the Times of India reported that the driver was constantly looking at her during the journey. She subsequently filed a police complaint, which led to the driver being put under surveillance for several days before he was arrested on Monday night. He has since been granted bail.
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