I was threatened, heckled and abused by the cab driver on my way to Goa: Mumait Khan

High drama ensued at Punjagutta Police Station on Thursday evening as actress Mumaith Khan filed a complaint against a cab driver, Raju, accusing him of cheating and defaming her. It all began with a social media post — which has now been deleted — shared by the driver, alleging that the actress did not pay him `15000 for toll gate charges and driver’s allowance incurred on a recent trip to Goa.The post went viral soon and earned the actress many brickbats from social media users who began to troll her.
A miffed Mumait fumes that these allegations are baseless. “I booked a cab for travelling from Hyderabad to Goa and back. He had asked for `20,000 and I agreed to pay `22,000 including stay, food and travel permits. But after we began our journey we realised that he didn’t have the required travel permits due to which we had to pay extra at the Karnataka border. It was such an ordeal,” she says, speaking to Hyderabad Times after filing the complaint. Apparently, she was travelling with a friend, Javed and her pet Molly and felt threatened by the driver's behaviour on their way back.
“Instead of leaving on September 20, we stayed an extra day and left for Hyderabad on September 21. I agreed to pay `1000 extra for it. But his behaviour turned intimidating along the journey. He was carrying a danda (stick) and kept trying to record me secretly while updating some people about our location. And upon reaching Hyderabad, he demanded that we pay `8000 more on top of the `23,500 we had already paid and refused to give us our bags,” she says, adding, “I decided to file a complaint for cheating, negligent driving and abuse. I hope the police will take strict action,” she says.
When we spoke to the SHO at the Punjagutta Police Station, M Niranjan Reddy, he said, “We have registered the complaint made by Mumait Khan. We will speak to both parties involved, investigate further and decide on the course of action that needs to be taken.”
Meanwhile, Raju said he is consulting Telangana Cab Drivers' Association to file a counter-complaint against the actress. “She took me to Goa promising to pay for my stay, food and incidentals. Upon reaching Goa, she refused to pay me and said she will ‘settle it’ after coming back to Hyderabad. After coming back to Hyderabad, she paid me only `12,000 and went away. This is nothing but blatant cheating and I hope action will be taken against her so that more innocent cab drivers won’t be cheated,” Raju told reporters on Friday.