INDIA-RAPE/UBER BAN Uber banned from operating in Indian capital after driver rape accusation

Record ID: 1372192

  • Title: INDIA-RAPE/UBER BAN Uber banned from operating in Indian capital after driver rape accusation
  • Date: 8th December 2014
  • Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (DECEMBER 08, 2014) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI - NO ACCESS BBC) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) DELHI TRANSPORT COMMISSIONER, KULDEEP SINGH GANGAR, SAYING: "We have taken action against this particular taxi and the driver. Apart from that, we have banned uber.com in Delhi and blacklisted it." VARIOUS OF POLICEMEN COMING OUT OF THE COURT BUILDING WITH THE ACCUSED (SOUNDBITE) (English) UBER OFFICIAL, GAGAN BHATIA, SAYING: "This is an ongoing investigation. I can't comment. I am sitting in a police station. I can't comment." MATHURA, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA (DECEMBER 7, 2014) (ANI - NO ACCESS BBC) EXTERIOR OF POLICE STATION VEHICLE WHERE THE ALLEGED ASSAULT TOOK PLACE LICENCE PLATE OF THE VEHICLE
  • Embargoed: 24th December 2014 10:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: India
  • Country: India
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVACE8XLY180HF8MQC6Y2Y2PS5C7
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4.3
    Delhi's transport commissioner Kuldeep Singh Gangar said on Monday (December 8) that United States online ride-hailing service Uber has been banned from operating in the Indian capital after a female passenger accused one of its drivers of rape, a case that has reignited a debate about the safety of women in the South Asian nation.
    "We have taken action against this particular taxi and the driver. Apart from that, we have banned uber.com in Delhi and blacklisted it," Kuldeep Singh Gangar said.
    The arrested driver, Shiv Kumar Yadav, appeared in court on Monday and was remanded in custody for three days. He was arrested on charges of raping a woman three years ago but was later acquitted, police said.
    Uber, which had employed the driver even though he had been arrested on allegations of sexual assault three years ago, would be blacklisted from providing any future services in the New Delhi area, the city's transport department said in a statement
    Indian police said they were considering legal action against the taxi service for failing to run background checks on the driver. The company said there were no defined rules in India on background checks for commercial transport licences and it was working with the government to address the issue.
    "This is an ongoing investigation. I can't comment. I am sitting in a police station. I can't comment," Gagan Bhatia, an Uber official, said.
    Police said the 32-year-old driver dropped the woman home after attacking her and warned her not to inform the authorities. She managed to note the driver's number and take a photograph of his car, they said.
    The sexual assault happened two years after the fatal gang rape of another young woman taking public transport in New Delhi. That case led to nationwide protests and forced the government to address demands for heavier sentences for rape.
  • Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register