Cabbies caned at airport, taxis seized

Cabbies caned at airport, taxis seized

K Ramanujam. Bangalore
Police caned as many as 300 Easy Cab drivers who went on an indefinite strike. The drivers were striking against the company's action of seizing nearly 80 cabs in a crackdown against drivers working with the company.
The drivers have been on indefinite strike for the last two days. They had assembled on Wednesday to continue their strike near the Bangalore International Airport Limited at Devanahalli. At around 1.30 pm, Assistant Commissioner of Police Ananda Kumar came to venue of the strike and told the drivers to withdraw their strike as they did not have the requisite permission from the police. A heated argument ensued, resulting in lathi charge by the police to disperse the drivers.
The ACP said that a meeting had been held yesterday between Easy Cab's management and drivers to thrash out differences; the drivers had alleged that Easy Cab authorities were charging them exorbitant rental charges on a daily basis.
"The management of Easy Cabs had agreed to get the blank cheques given by the drivers to them filled, so that there was no dispute over the amount drawn by the company. Clarifying the situation, Karanataka High court advocate KS Arun said that if Easy Cab did have a proper license, they are free to collect the cheque as a security deposit; that would not be an offence. However, having no licence and yet operating a cab service would be an offence.