‘Ola Driver Boasted Of Beating Muslim Passengers’: Mahua Moitra Seeks Response Over SC Advocate’s Complaint

Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra has sought a response from Ola after a SC advocate wrote to Ola CEO about a driver who allegedly boasted about beating up Muslim passengers, seemingly to intimidate him.

Mahua Moitra (L) has called on Ola to respond after an advocate wrote to Bhavish Aggarwal (R), alleging that an Ola driver intimidated him because of his Muslim identity.

Source : PTI and X

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Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra took to social media to demand a response from Ola following a complaint sent by a Supreme Court advocate to Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal. The advocate alleged that an Ola driver “glorified violent criminal acts against Muslims and deliberately intimidated passengers on communal grounds” during a ride on March 15 from his residence in Greater Kailash to Max Mueller Bhavan in Delhi. The AITC politician added that if the company is not part of the solution, it risks being seen as part of the problem.

‘Ola Driver Boasted Of Beating Muslim Passengers’

In his complaint dated March 16, Supreme Court advocate Dr Saif Mahmood claimed that the Ola driver narrated incidents in which he had “brutally beaten up Muslim passengers” on two occasions, seemingly to intimidate Dr Mahmood due to his Muslim identity.

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“I am compelled to write to you directly with a sense of deep shock and alarm about what I experienced today during an Ola ride; an experience involving the open glorification of violent criminal acts against Muslims and deliberate communal intimidation of passengers. I am an Advocate of the Supreme Court of India, and Joint Managing Partner of the international law firm CMI & Co,” Dr Mahmood wrote in his email to Bhavish Aggarwal.

He also provided detailed ride information, including the CRN for the ride and a screenshot from the Ola app. “On 15 March 2026, I booked an Ola ride from my residence in Greater Kailash-1, New Delhi, to Max Mueller Bhavan at 5.22 pm... At the time of the ride, the driver’s name appeared as Shri Ram on the app. However, when I checked my ride history shortly thereafter, the driver’s name had been removed, though the ride remains visible,” he added.

Ola Driver Allegedly Tried To Intimidate SC Advocate

According to Dr Mahmood, shortly after the ride began, the driver started chatting and mentioned he was from Kanpur. “The driver began chatting with me and told me he was from Kanpur. He then began proudly narrating an incident in which he claimed to have brutally beaten up a Muslim passenger because the passenger was eating non-vegetarian food in his vehicle.”

The advocate said the driver described stopping at a Vaishnav dhaba while travelling from Delhi to Moradabad, where he “brutally assaulted the passenger” with others joining in to “beat the man and break his legs”.

“He alleged that the passenger (whom he referred to only as ‘some Ansari’ had threatened that, upon reaching Moradabad, he would gather ‘his own people’ who would ‘cut the driver to pieces’. The driver then said he decided not to leave him in a condition to reach Moradabad at all. He recounted the entire episode with striking pride, openly glorifying the violence at every step,” the SC advocate further claimed. 

The driver allegedly also boasted about assaulting another Muslim man in Noida. “At multiple points, the driver made remarks that revealed this was a deliberate, targeted display of Islamophobia. He repeatedly emphasised the Muslim identity of those he claimed to have assaulted and even stated that the Uttar Pradesh Government was ‘doing well to teach such people a lesson’,” Dr Mahmood said.

Hello @Olacabs - we need you to publicly clarify your stand & actions ref @dr_Saifmahmood serious complaint.
If you’re not part of the solution you will be part of the problem. pic.twitter.com/NnVqXBTYb1

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) March 18, 2026

‘Will Take Action If…’

Dr Mahmood said the driver appeared to target him because of his Muslim identity, which was evident from the booking details. “While alighting, I told him that I am a Supreme Court lawyer and would escalate this matter; he seemed taken aback but remained silent,” he added.

He emphasised that the driver’s comments go beyond “inappropriate behaviour,” constituting “admission of criminal acts, hate speech and Islamophobia, criminal intimidation, and a safety risk for passengers.” He also questioned Ola’s stance on such incidents.

“Does Ola condone, tolerate, or turn a blind eye to the propagation of communal hatred, Islamophobia, and the glorification of violence by drivers operating on its platform? If Ola asserts that it does not, it must clearly explain its official policies on equality, non-discrimination, and respect for all passengers, irrespective of religion, as well as the measures in place to prevent drivers from intimidating or targeting passengers on communal grounds,” the advocate wrote.

Dr Mahmood added that if he does not receive a response within three days, he will pursue all remedies available under law and escalate the matter through the Supreme Court Bar Association and Delhi High Court Bar Association. He concluded his complaint expressing hope that “Ola will take this matter with the seriousness it deserves”.

ABP Live has reached out to Ola via email and will update the story once we receive a response.