Uber rape case: All steps will be taken to bring offender to justice, says Rajnath Singh

The accused driver, who was arrested yesterday in Mathura, has been revealed as a repeat offender

Asserting that the government strongly condemns this dastardly incident of sexual assault of a woman by a cab driver in Delhi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said it will be ensured that all necessary steps are taken to bring the offender to justice.

"I rise to report an extremely unfortunate incident of sexual assault on a young woman in the night intervening 5/6.12.2014. The Government of India strongly condemns this dastardly act. It will be ensured that all necessary steps are taken to bring the offender to justice," said Singh while making a statement in the Parliament on the incident.

"On 5.12.14 during late evening hours, a 26 year old woman (name withheld for privacy and legal reasons) had hired a taxi through the online cab service 'UBER' at around 10.30 p.m for going from Vasant Vihar area to Inder Lok in the jurisdiction of PS Sarai Rohilla, North District. The woman works in Gurgaon and after her office hours she had come to Vasant Vihar with some friends," he added.

The Home Minister said the woman reported that while sitting in the taxi, she dozed off for a while and then suddenly realized that the taxi was parked at an isolated place and the driver was trying to molest her on the back seat.

"She tried to raise an alarm but the driver threatened her of physical injury and then she was sexually assaulted in the car. After committing the crime the driver dropped her at her home at around 1 a.m and threatened her again not to disclose about the incident to anyone," said Singh.

"As soon as information was received by the police, a case was registered vide FIR No. 1291/14 dated 6.12.14, U/S 376/323/506 IPC PS Sarai Rohilla. Immediately police teams were formed to identify and locate the culprit. The woman was sent for medical examination and she was also counselled by an NGO volunteer authorized by Delhi Commission for Women," he added.

Singh further informed that the forensic examination of the car used in the crime will also be done.

"Following the clues at hand and through painstaking investigation, the culprit driver was zeroed down as one person from Mathura, owner of the vehicle Swift Desire No. DL-1YD 7910. He has this vehicle registered with Uber Cab Service. The Vehicle used in the crime has been found and brought to Delhi where it will be subjected to thorough forensic examination," he said.

"The accused has been arrested on 7.12.2014 from Mathura and has been brought to Delhi where he will be produced before court on 8.12.2014 i.e. today," he added.

The Union Home Minister had earlier in the day termed the incident as 'extremely unfortunate and shameful'.

"Laws are to be implemented effectively, strict action and perceptional change is also necessary. When such incidents happen, then we all naturally get hurt," he said.

The woman was raped by an Uber cab driver earlier on Friday when she hired the taxi to go back to her home in Northwest Delhi, leading to outrage and fear about the safety of women in cabs.

The accused driver, who was arrested yesterday in Mathura, has now been revealed as a repeat offender. According to reports, he was imprisoned in the Tihar jail for 10 months while being tried for allegedly raping a 22-year-old employee of a Gurgaon pub.