Uber taxis are now banned in New Delhi, India, after one of its drivers has been accused of raping his female passenger. The announcement was made Monday, December 7, 2014, a day after local police arrested the rape suspect named Shiv Kumar Yadav. Other non-registered taxi services are also set to be banned soon.
“Right now, we have banned Uber as we came to know only after this incident about its services in Delhi. We too had to log on to the internet to know how the company works,” Delhi Transport Department special commissioner Satish Mathur said in a statement.
“Uber never applied for any permission to us, is not recognized under the Radio Taxi Rules and has flouted most of the laid-down rules.” Mathur added, with the San Francisco-based taxi-booking service company operating in 11 cities across India including Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.
Allegedly, the woman passenger was dozed off inside the car and fell asleep. After she was raped, the driver dropped her off near her home but threatened her not to tell anyone about the incident. Less than an hour later, the woman reported the incident to the police.
The identity of the victim was not revealed, but was said to be a 26-year-old employee of a finance company in Gurgaon, New Delhi. Based on her statement, she had a dinner at a friend’s apartment last Friday. Later, she called an Uber taxi so she can go home.
This Monday, the rape suspect faced the court and will be under custody of the authorities for three days for further questioning. According to Indian media, Yadav, 32, has been jailed for seven months in 2011 for a separate rape case but was acquitted due to discrepancies in the victim’s claim. As of posting, the Delhi government is still investigating the news claims.
Nevertheless, Delhi police commissioner B.S. Bassi said that Yadav’s alleged certificate released by local media is not true. For Uber India CEO Travis Kalanick, he said the company “will work with the government to establish clear background checks currently absent in their commercial transportation licensing programs.”
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