Hyderabad woman says Swiggy Genie agent stole laptop during delivery, demanded ₹15,000 ransom

A Swiggy Genie delivery agent in Hyderabad allegedly stole a laptop and then demanded ₹15,000 to return it.

A recent incident involving a Swiggy Genie delivery partner in Hyderabad has shocked customers after a laptop was allegedly stolen during a delivery. Nishitha Gudipudi, a civil engineer, took to LinkedIn to share the details. She said her husband booked Swiggy Genie a few days ago to pick up his backpack from one office to drop at another in the city's Madhapur area. Swiggy said the delivery agent has been removed from the platform.

Swiggy agent takes laptop and asks for money to return it. (File Photo )

The delivery partner picked up the backpack with the laptop inside and in between the ride, allegedly switched off his phone.

“He basically stole the laptop and initially we thought okay, partial error at our end too to use Genie to deliver the laptop but how things took a turn after is what really surprised and scared us,” Gudipudi said in her post.

When her husband reached out to customer care, they were not able to identify the delivery agent who was on their booking and ended up sending two pictures asking which one came to pick up the parcel.

“When reached out to Swiggy customer care about this, they couldn’tidentify the person who was on our booking, in turn, sent us two pics and asked which one of these guys (attached the pic)," the Hyderabad resident said.

Gudipudi and her husband suspected that Swiggy's system allows a person to register using his Aadhar or PAN and then permits anyone using their login credentials.

The most alarming part was when the couple contacted the agent via WhatsApp, he claimed that his friend used his login. Soon after this conversation, they received a message from the same number demanding ₹15,000 to have the laptop delivered through Rapido.

Gudipudi also shared screenshots of the WhatsApp conversation between her husband and the person who demanded the money.

“At Swiggy, safeguarding our consumers' safety and trust is our top priority. This incident breaches our code of conduct, and the delivery executive involved has been removed from our platform,” a Swiggy representative said in a statement.

“We are in contact with the customer and are supporting the authorities investigating the matter to resolve this issue promptly.”

Here's how people reacted to the post:

A LinkedIn user, Mayank V, commented, "When I was travelling to my internship location in Noida a Rapido driver told me that he murdered a man last year because of an argument. After reaching my location I paid using UPI, where his name was "Abdul Khan" definitely different from the mentioned name on the ride. It was a scary experience".

Another user, Thirupathi Naidu Veerthineni, commented, "I regret the situation; however, the Swiggy team should take action and resolve it. Otherwise, the public's trust, human ethics, and customer satisfaction have all decreased".

This incident raises serious concerns about safety and security in delivery services. Allowing unauthorised people to access accounts and the blackmail attempt highlight the risks involved.