Zepto Denies Link With Hyderabad Road Accident Victim: 'Verified Identity, Cooperating With Police'

Quick commerce platform Zepto has issued a statement denying that the delivery worker who recently died in a road accident in Hyderabad was associated with the company. This follows after it was reported last Thursday that a Zepto delivery person, identified as Abhishek, lost his life due to a road accident in Hyderabad’s Mehdipatnam.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic road accident reported in Hyderabad and extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased,” the company posted on X Sunday. Zepto clarified that the individual “was not associated with Zepto and was not delivering for Zepto at the time of the accident.”

Zepto said that it has conducted thorough checks using its database, facial recognition and CCTV footage across its store network to confirm that the person was not part of its delivery fleet. “We are fully cooperating with the Mehdipatnam Police Station and have submitted our findings to rectify the initial misconception,” it noted.

Earlier, news agency ANI reported the deceased as a Zepto delivery person and noted that the Gig Worker Union is demanding justice for his family members from gig platforms.

The agency cited a police official as saying: "Recently, a person named Abhishek, a gig worker, lost his life in a road accident. He was a native of Shekpet and worked as a delivery boy for Zepto. He was going on a two-wheeler from Mehdipatnam when a bus collided with him, and he lost his life on the spot. We've registered a case and are investigating the matter. We're appealing to gig workers to wear helmets while driving."

Following the incident, Zepto also noted in its post that the company’s delivery partners are covered under comprehensive insurance, including up to Rs 10 lakh for accidental cover and up to Rs 1 lakh for health insurance. 

“We would like to reiterate that all Zepto delivery partners are covered under a comprehensive insurance policy, including up to Rs 10 lakh accidental cover and up to Rs 1 lakh health insurance. No claim has been made in this case; the individual was not part of our delivery fleet,” it said.

The incident follows days after gig economy workers launched a nationwide strike on Dec. 31, demanding fair wages and better working conditions. The workers protested “systemic exclusion from core labour entitlements.” In a letter to Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, they urged the Centre to intervene immediately to stop the “exploitation” of workers in food delivery and taxi service platforms.

In response to the strikes, platforms like Zomato and Swiggy announced higher payouts to the delivery partners during peak hours to manage the New Year’s Eve rush. However, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal had defended the gig model. On his social accounts, reacting to strike criticism, he had argued that the gig model is designed as supplementary income instead of a full-time job. On safety concerns, Goyal had rejected claims that faster delivery pressures cause reckless driving.

“The most common concern is that faster delivery promises translate into pressure on delivery partners to drive unsafely. That isn’t how the system operates. Firstly, delivery partners are not shown customer-facing time promises. There is no ‘10-minute timer’ or countdown in the delivery app,” he said.