Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) has voiced apprehension against delivery personnel of online aggregator platforms and demanded Mumbai Police to enforce mandatory registration of all delivery partners. It alleged a rise in complaints involving fraud, misconduct and criminal impersonation by the delivery personnel, claiming a threat to public safety.
While various claims related to delivery personnel are shared by people on social media every day, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s IT Cell president Akhil Chitre has demanded the Mumbai Police to enforce mandatory registration of all delivery personnel. In a letter written on Monday, he raised concerns regarding the operations and conduct of delivery personnel employed by online aggregator platforms.
Chitre has demanded that there is an urgent need to enforce mandatory registration of all delivery personnel, including identity verification, submission of valid documents and criminal background checks. He also added that companies must be held accountable if they fail to comply with these norms or if any of their delivery agents are found to be involved in criminal activities.
He has also demanded that delivery agents must wear standard uniforms and display ID cards and should be restricted to conceal their identity with helmets or masks during delivery to prevent impersonation. He added that the delivery partners must be provided a standardised training in traffic rules, customer etiquette, and emergency safety protocols.
He also asked for a public safety mechanism, including a dedicated helpline or reporting mechanism for customers facing misconduct or safety concerns. “There have been several reports of crimes such as sexual harassment, theft, chain-snatching, and even murder by individuals posing as delivery partners. The increasing number of unscreened migrant workers joining these platforms without proper checks is contributing to the problem,” Chitre said.
He raised allegations against a particular online aggregator platform delivering food, groceries and other daily need products. He accused the platform of accepting payments for orders from restaurants that are not operational and cancelling them later while also delaying refunds.
He also accused the platform of sharing misleading visuals and false representation of food and alleged that critical details about the hygiene, quality, and background of the food establishments are hidden.
He demanded that Marathi-speaking representatives should be made available in Maharashtra for customer service as the partner has no functional office or grievance redressal setup in the state.
