Major ride-sharing platforms have stated that Ganesh Nepali of Mugu, who died after attempting self-immolation in front of the Department of Passports in Tripureshwar, Kathmandu, was not listed as an 'active' driver in their system.
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Pathao, InDrive, and Yango, the three major ride-sharing companies, have claimed that Ganesh Nepali was not shown as ‘active’ in their systems. The companies have stated that, based on his recent trip records and prolonged inactivity on the app, they have no direct technical or business involvement in this tragic incident.
Pathao Nepal’s Managing Director Yeshu Thakali said that Ganesh joined the Pathao platform on September 23, 2023. However, Thakali asserted that he had not been active on the system recently. According to Pathao’s records, Nepali last took a trip with Pathao in March 2025. The company also claims that the motorcycle he was operating was not registered in Pathao’s database.
“It appears he was initially registered only as a food man (delivery),” Yeshu said, “but there is no record of him as an active bike rider recently. The motorcycle number he was driving in yesterday’s incident was also not found registered in our database.”
Similarly, InDrive also stated that Ganesh Nepali was very rarely active on their platform. According to InDrive representatives, he had taken only 300 rides through their app. The company claims that Nepali was not online in their system on the day of the incident. InDrive described him as a ‘part-timer’ and noted that he was not an active driver.
Yango Nepal’s head, Santosh Pandey, also told Kantipur that Ganesh was not an active driver on Yango. “He is not active on our platform,” Pandey said. When asked when and where Ganesh last took a ride, he responded that such personal details could only be provided to the police.
None of the three major ride-sharing platforms—Pathao, InDrive, or Yango—have taken any concrete responsibility regarding Ganesh Nepali’s professional activity. The platforms have cited technical data to distance themselves from the deceased driver.
Drivers, however, have called this argument by the companies irresponsible. Muktinath Phuyal, founding president of the Independent Drivers Foundation Nepal, said this is a longstanding tendency of the platforms. “Whenever any unfortunate incident occurs, companies have a habit of saying ‘they were not active with us,’” he said. “They don’t even take responsibility when questioned by the ministry.”
Driver Sujan Rana argued that even if they take just one ride a day, they are still members or employees of the company. “Most people do ride-sharing as a part-time job and take only one ride a day,” Sujan said. “Can you dismiss someone as inactive just because they took one ride a day?”
Sujan said that when they do not get rides for hours on the app, they are forced to take ‘offline’ rides to cover petrol expenses and household needs. “This is not our choice, it’s a necessity,” he said.
Phuyal said that Ganesh Nepali, who had been struggling in this field for four years, had only recently bought a new bike on loan. “He used to work on all the apps to pay for his mother’s treatment and support his family,” he said. “But after his tragic death, when companies try to shirk their responsibility by looking at login and logout times, it has created more insecurity and anger among drivers.”
