Uber official quizzed in Delhi

Delhi Police Monday questioned an official of global taxi company Uber in connection with the rape of a 25-year-old working woman in the national capital.

"Gagan Bhatia, director (who looks after the work in Delhi and national capital region) has been called today (Monday) and was questioned," a police officer told IANS.

He was questioned at Deputy Commissioner of Police Madhur Verma's office in north Delhi.

Police said that they are planning to send a notice to Uber's other official to join the probe under section 161 of CrPC.

Bhatia, however dodged the media after the questioning saying: "It's an ongoing investigation. I would not comment."

The questioning came three days after one of the company's drivers, Shiv Kumar Yadav, allegedly raped a woman commuter here. The woman was on her way to home in north Delhi's Inderlok area from Gurgaon in Haryana where she works with a private company.

"We are conducting an investigation into the case and whatever is necessary will be done," said Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi.

"The taxis bearing yellow and black registration number plates are operating in Delhi. Six service providers are there, who follow the rules of radio taxi scheme 2006," Bassi said.

"But this particular Uber taxi booking service was not following the procedures of radio taxi scheme, 2006. They were operating without taking permission from the transport department. They (Uber) had a responsibility. They had to provide certain quality of service," Bassi added.

Yadav was Sunday arrested from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh.

During investigation, it has been found that the cab driver had a criminal record and was accused in another rape case. Besides, Uber had not given him any public service verification (badge) or any employer's verification certificate.

The Delhi government has decided to ban the Uber service in the city.

During the investigation it was also revealed that Yadav, who has three children, was arrested in 2011 in a case of rape with same modus-operandi in south Delhi and spent seven months in Tihar jail. He was later acquitted in the case, after victim retracted the allegation.

He had also managed to get the clearance certificate, the copy of which is accessed by IANS, from Deputy Commissioner's office in south east Delhi's Sarita Vihar to get the job in Uber.

Police said that the accused driver was under the influence of alcohol while picking up the woman from south Delhi's Vasant Vihar between 10 and 10.15 p.m.

According to an investigator, after seeing the woman the accused thought that she could be a soft target and intentionally took a long route to drop her at her residence in north Delhi's Inderlok.

The investigator said that the GPS system of the cab showed that it started from Vasant Vihar from where the accused driver took a left turn from R.K. Puram Sector 8.

"The driver then took Ring Road going towards Dhaula Kuan. He passed Mayapuri, Rajauri Garden, Moti Nagar and reached Tri Nagar in west Delhi. Near Jakhira flyover in west Delhi, he parked the car while the woman was sleeping and came on the rear seat," said the officer.

While he was trying to molest the woman, she woke up and resisted.

"He slapped me thrice and threatened me to insert an iron rod in my private parts. He raped me and dropped me at home," she said in the First Information Report, a copy of which is with IANS.

The accused driver, after dropping the woman, called his wife in Mathura and asked her to pack all the necessary belongings.

Police said the accused had planned to escape to Nepal for which he had started arranging money.