Crime Branch officers book a ride from international airport to Navi Mumbai, discover that tactics used by arrested drivers can be used in updated app, too
Crime Branch has also noticed that many drivers who were under the scanner deleted the appu00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0099s old version. Representation pic/Istock
Trouble mounts for Ola as the Mumbai Crime Branch, investigating the GPS manipulation case, have found glitches in the latest version of the app, launched just two months ago. The police on November 1 had arrested three Ola partner drivers found manipulating the GPS tracker via an old version of the app.
Crime Branch has also noticed that many drivers who were under the scanner deleted the app's old version. So far, four mobiles of Ola drivers suspected to be manipulating the distance travelled, have been seized and 35 drivers increasing the kilometres travelled from specifically the international airport to different locations in Navi Mumbai have been identified.
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The Mumbai Sessions Court recently rejected the bail plea of main accused Rajesh Acharya. While rejecting the bail, additional sessions judge Abhijeet Nandgaonkar said that even he is a victim. The Crime Branch suspects that Ola was aware of the app's glitch that allows easy tampering.
The Crime Branch recently booked another ride using the latest version of the Ola cab from the international airport to Panvel. They noticed that the same tactics used by the three drivers first arrested can also be used with the latest app to increase kilometres. "During the ride, we found that even the latest version of the app can be tampered with," said Vinayak Mer, senior police inspector of Crime Branch Unit I.
The Crime Branch recently recorded the statement of the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of Ola. The CTO told the police that he is not aware of how the tampering became possible and that they are verifying if there is a problem with the app or the arrested drivers tampered with it. The Crime Branch has given the CTO a list of 15 questions and asked for detailed answers. "We have asked Ola to submit data from the past year of these three drivers, other drivers who may have had a 40 per cent hike in the fares, complaints about such cases and what the company did to resolve them," an officer privy to the investigation said. According to police, Ola had more than 15 lakh rides per day across India before the lockdown.
Also Read: GPS manipulating case: Crime Branch summons cab aggregator
While Ola refused to comment on the matter, sources from the company said, "We have been cooperating with the police. The case is against the drivers, not us. We updated our app just two months ago and fixed all glitches."
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