PANAJI
In swift action that preceded Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s assurance in the Legislative Assembly, the Goa police on Friday registered an offence against global ride-hailing platform Uber and one of its drivers for allegedly operating without the state transport permits.
The crackdown came incidentally on the day when the Opposition alleged that Uber has been operating illegally across the State in violation of Goa’s transport regulations.
The incident under scrutiny occurred recently, when an Uber cab was booked by a customer from Manohar International Airport at Mopa.
MLA Venzy Viegas, who raised the issue in the Assembly, informed the House that a complaint was filed at the Colva police station while action was still awaited.
Mopa police booked the driver, Devendra Satardekar and the Management of Uber for the offense.
“The driver, in connivance with Uber management in Goa, was found operating and picking up passengers via the Uber mobile app without the necessary state transport permit/license. Such operations allegedly violate transport laws of Goa, pose safety and security risks to passengers, and result in loss of revenue to the state exchequer,” North Goa Superintendent of Police Rahul Gupta said.
During the House proceedings earlier in the day, Sawant had confirmed that no permissions had been granted to Uber to operate in Goa. He assured the House that the government would verify the incident raised by Viegas regarding the Mopa Airport ride.
