'Not Allowed To Feel Safe': Mumbai Tourist Alleges Harassment By Munnar Taxi Drivers

Last Updated:November 03, 2025, 13:03 IST

Janvi said she feels safer using app-based cabs since they allow her friends and family to track her location and offer additional safety features.

AI-generated image used for representation

A tourist from Mumbai had to cancel her Munnar trip midway after she was allegedly harassed by taxi drivers. Sharing her ordeal in a video online, Janvi, who is an assistant professor, revealed that the police or the Kerala Tourism Department helped her.

Posting a three-minute-long video, Janvi also shared evidence while she narrated her ordeal. As the video starts, she begins by appreciating Kerala’s beauty, also adding that she met some nice people in Kochi and Alleppey.

“This trip started with us going to Kochi, then to Alleppey. The people over there were extremely nice, very kind, very welcoming and then I decided to go to Munnar. A decision that has changed the way that I will always remember this trip," she said.

When she decided to go to Munnar, she was told by her host that there were no Ola or Uber pickups. “Not available. Not allowed," she clarified. Asking about the reason, Janvi was told it was because of the union. She was however, already booked the cab.

“He (host) basically warned us that if we still want to go, we have to call him (driver) to a different location and then we have to meet him there and make sure that nobody notices us," she added.

The cab driver came, and as soon as they started loading their luggage in the cab, a group of five to six people came.

“Apparently, they had been following us. They started threatening our cab driver, telling him that he couldn’t take us. Nobody asked us. We obviously didn’t understand the language, but we understood the aggression in it and started feeling extremely unsafe," she added.

Janvi dialled the police, but they were of no help.

“Not a single word to us."

She further mentioned that the police also asked them to hire a local taxi.

“Everybody kept throwing the same sentence to us. You’re not allowed. You’re not allowed to decide who you travel with. You’re not allowed to feel safe. You’re not allowed to exercise your constitutional rights," she added.

Janvi said she feels safer using app-based cabs since they allow her friends and family to track her location and offer additional safety features.

“It’s very easy to lodge complaints because of the cybersecurity protocols, but here I was being forced to go with somebody that was threatening us like a few minutes ago, a person that I definitely did not feel safe with," she

She later also checked for any such court order, but instead found the opposite. The Kerala High Court actually allows the app-based taxis in the state because “it is the constitutional right of a customer to decide who they want to travel with."

“I loved Kerala. I loved how beautiful it was. I loved how amazing the people of Kerala were. But I don’t think that I’ll be able to come back to a place where I’m not allowed to feel safe," she said towards the end of the video.

The Munnar police registered a suo motu complaint after the video went viral. The video has now been removed from Janvi’s social media account, and a probe into the matter is underway.

Meanwhile, this is not the only incident where a private taxi driver was not allowed to operate in Kerala. The state has witnessed several incidents where private taxi drivers were assaulted.

Anushka Vats

Anushka Vats is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for storytelling and a curiosity that extends beyond the newsroom. She covers both national and international news. For more stories, you can follow her...Read More

Anushka Vats is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for storytelling and a curiosity that extends beyond the newsroom. She covers both national and international news. For more stories, you can follow her...

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