Cabbie throws a fit over coin

Calcutta: The money mess is grating on the nerves of a symbol of everyday life in the city: the cabbie. A taxi driver has been accused of preventing a mother and her seven-year-old daughter from getting off his cab at New Alipore and trying to drive away on Monday afternoon when she failed to replace a 10-rupee coin she had paid as part of the fare. The taxi was forced to a stop half a kilometre away by residents who, alerted by the cries of the woman passenger, gave chase on bikes. Without realising that the child was inside, the rescuers smashed the rear windowpanes. The girl suffered gashes on her arms and legs. The driver had refused to accept the 10-rupee coin, saying counterfeit coins were in circulation. Such rumours have been going around for sometime and have acquired an edge after the demonetisation decision because citizens are scraping the barrel for leftover coins and notes. In September, the RBI had said the Rs 10 coin was very much in circulation and those refusing to accept it could face legal action. The taxi driver has been arrested and charged with wrongful restraint and rash and negligent driving. The homemaker, in her 30s, and her daughter, who studies in Class II at a reputable south Calcutta school, had hired the white taxi in front of South City Mall. The fare for the trip to New Alipore's Block K had come to Rs 43. She paid three 10-rupee notes, one 10-rupee coin and three one-rupee coins. The driver refused to accept the 10-rupee coin. Her husband later said: "My wife said she did not have another 10-rupee note and that there was no ban on the 10-rupee coin. At this, the driver started shouting." The driver allegedly gunned the engine and took a U-turn from the place where they were to get off. The woman started screaming for help. "The vehicle was intercepted on Roy Bahadur Road in Behala," said a police officer.