After Delhi ban, Uber slapped with cheating case; driver a serial offender

New Delhi: US-based online global cab company Uber was in for more trouble Tuesday after Delhi Police slapped a case of cheating and violating lawful orders after one of its drivers was arrested for raping a 25-year-old woman business analyst. It also emerged that the driver was involved in two earlier cases of rape and one of molestation.

The Delhi government Monday banned "all activities" by Uber in the national capital and also blacklisted the firm from providing transport services in the city in future.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh Tuesday said he has asked state governments and union territories to ban all web-based radio taxis following the rape incident.

"The ministry of home affairs has advised the state government and union territories to ensure that the operations of web-based taxi services are stopped and such service providers which are not licensed with the state governments or union territory administration are prohibited to operate till they get registered themselves with the administration," Rajnath Singh said in the Rajya Sabha.

Delhi Police cracked down on Uber, filing a case under sections 420 (cheating) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code at the Sarai Rohilla police station in north Delhi Tuesday.

The tourism ministry also advised state governments and union territories to deploy 'tourist police' for the safety and security of tourists.

Many metro cities, including Bengaluru and Mumbai, are verifying online cab services.

The Delhi Commission for Women has issued notice to Uber for laxity in verifying the background of drivers and also asked Delhi Police to submit a report on the rape case.

The accused driver, 32-year-old Shiv Kumar Yadav, who hails from Uttar Pradesh's Mathura, has also been booked for submitting forged documents to get a permit to ply his cab in the capital.

Yadav is accused of raping the woman in his cab while taking her to north Delhi Friday night. He was arrested Sunday from his native place Mathura.

Yadav, who is in three-day police custody, has confessed to his crime and told police that he raped the woman after parking his car in a secluded spot beside Zakhira bridge in north Delhi. He said the woman kept screaming for help for 30 minutes as he slapped and threatened her.

Police said Yadav has no remorse for the act. He was also not expecting police to act so fast in the matter and arrest him.

According to police, Yadav confessed that he was always on the prowl for women travelling late at night, especially those who he thought were vulnerable.

Police said Yadav was a "serial offender" and was previously accused in three more criminal cases in Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri district.

"Shiv Kumar Yadav was involved in a molestation case in 2003, in a case related to the Arms Act in 2006, and rape and robbery in 2013 in Mainpuri. He was arrested and charge-sheeted in all cases," a police officer told IANS.

In 2011, he was involved in raping a woman in his taxi in Delhi. He spent seven months in jail but got bail after the woman turned hostile in court.

Yadav was also an accused in at least two cases under the Uttar Pradesh Control of Goonda Act, an officer said.

All the cases are under trial and he is out on bail.

Yadav married the widow of his younger brother and has two daughters and a step son.

He had submitted a forged character certificate purportedly issued by Delhi Police to get a tourist taxi permit.

Meanwhile, upset by the nationwide adverse publicity, the Radio Taxi Association of India (RTAI) has vouched for its services as "safe, trustworthy and reliable".

RTAI president Kunal Lalani expressed grief over the Delhi incident and reiterated the members' commitment to adhere to rules and guidelines as per law, and assured that all passengers, including women, would be provided safe services by the licensed operators.