Mumbai Auto Driver’s Locker Service Near US Consulate Shut After Viral ₹5–8 Lakh Earning Claim

The autorickshaw driver who recently made news for claiming to make "₹5 to ₹8 lakh a month" without actually transporting passengers but instead pledging to protect their possessions when they visit the US consulate in Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) has run afoul of the law.

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Rahul Rupani, a co-founder of VenueMonk, posted the auto driver's narrative on LinkedIn last week. He told us that he was not permitted to bring his bag into the US consulate during his visa interview and he did not know where to store his items. It was then that a nearby auto driver agreed to keep his bag on condition of ₹1,000.

“Sir, bag de do. Safe rakhunga, mera roz ka hai," the driver reportedly said. Rupani initially hesitated but agreed, later praising the driver’s "brilliant business" model. In his now-viral post, he alleged that the driver was making ₹5 to ₹8 lakh monthly as a side hustle. Even Harsh Goenka, a billionaire, applauded the post, calling it “pure Indian jugaad.”

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Police step in, halt service

As the post went viral on social media, the Mumbai police summoned the auto driver and 12 other drivers who were providing locker services on a similar basis to guests visiting the US consulate. A senior officer at the BKC police station told Hindustan Times parking Is not allowed in the area, due to security reasons. Auto drivers can drop passengers but need to leave.

The police explained that drivers had no legal grounds to run locker services or keep belongings in a nearby shop. Authorities raised concerns that anything lost could pose severe security threats.

“The auto driver has a licence to transport passengers, not to run a locker service. Therefore, we inquired into the matter and he has now stopped providing lockers," police told Free Press Journal.

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