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India's First Female Uber Driver Has Been Found Dead

Bharati Veerath was the first woman to drive an Uber in her country. After her alleged suicide, a friend remembers her life.
Photo courtesy of Manohar Elavarthi

The first female Uber driver in India has died, in what police describe as an apparent suicide. Bharati Veerath made headlines across the world when she first started working for Uber, in a country where few women drive cabs and the company has been linked to serious sexual assaults.

Local publication the News Minute reports that Veerath was found dead at home in north Bengaluru on the evening of June 27. "The body has been sent for post-mortem," police commissioner TR Suresh told the newspaper. "We will get a clear picture of what exactly happened once we get the reports. We did not find any suicide note and there were also no signs of forceful entry."

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In an interview with the same publication weeks before her death, Veerath had spoken of her hopes for the future. "I'll do this job as long as I can," she said, adding, "I've never had any bad experience [sic] with any customer. I've had a comfortable driving experience with passengers and they too have been appreciative."

Before working for Uber, Veersath had worked for Bengaluru-based cab firm Angel City Cabs and Sangama, a NGO advocating for the rights of LGBT people and sex workers. Broadly spoke to Manohar Elavarthi, a friend and colleague from her time at Sangama.

"She was a positive, strong, generally happy person," he says. "When I met her she was working in different capacities for Sangama: admin and programs, mostly."

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As Veerath had limited English writing skills, Elavarthi suggested she change career given that there were few jobs in the sector for those without good English. "She learned driving skills and drove Sangama's vehicles for a few years. Later she got a bank loan from an NGO to help her buy a car." In comments posted to Facebook, Elavarthi describes her as a "a brave woman who fought many odds to become a taxi driver and make it on her own."

Unconfirmed reports suggest that Veerath—who was a lesbian in a country where LGBT people suffer widespread discrimination—had been struggling with relationship issues. Speaking to the Deccan Chronicle, an unnamed source claimed Veerath was depressed following the recent breakup of a long-term relationship. Another friend rubbished the claims, however, as "baseless": "It may have been a trigger, but that's all it was."

Screenshot via YouTube

Veerath's death will be a loss to Bengaluru's LGBT community and to India's small but growing number of female cab drivers. Veerath was a pioneer in a country where female labor force participation stands at only 24 percent. When asked how many women currently drive for Uber, the company declined to disclose the figure. However, an Uber spokesperson told Broadly that they "have many women drivers across various cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, Chennai."

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Commenting on Veerath's death, they added: "We are shocked and saddened to learn of the tragic death of Bharathi Veerath. Bharathi was a positive person and one of our top women driver partners. She was an inspiration to many driver partners and riders. Our thoughts are with her family."