Uber rape case: Court order on charges Jan 13

A court here Friday reserved till Jan 13 its order on framing of charges against a Uber cab driver accused of raping a woman executive in the capital after the prosecution told the court that he had endangered the victim's life by causing grievous injuries during the sexual assault and also tried to engage in unnatural sex.

Additional Sessions Judge Kaveri Baweja reserved the order after the prosecution and defence concluded arguments in the case.

Shiv Kumar Yadav, 32, allegedly raped the woman executive on the night of Dec 5 in the cab she hired to head back home in north Delhi's Inderlok area.

Special public prosecutor Atul Srivastava informed the court that Yadav has caused injuries to victim while committing rape and swelling on lower lips and some scratch marks were found on the woman during her medical examination.

The man has tried for unnatural sex, he added.

He requested the court to frame charges against Yadav as he had endangered the victim's life.

Relying on the victim's statement in the case, he further added that Yadav had tried to strangle the victim and few scratch marks were found on her neck.

The defence counsel argued that the injuries on neck do not establish strangling.

As prosecution said the accused took the woman in a isolated place with motive to commit the heinous crime, the defence counsel said Yadav has followed the route to the victim's house as per her direction.

Prosecution added that Yadav has also threatened the victim by saying that he will insert rod in her private parts, but the defence counsel countered it, submitting that no such weapon were recovered from the car.

Srivastava said that threatening woman itself is enough evidence to frame charges against Yadav in the case.

The charge sheet was filed Dec 24 - 19 days after the rape - and the cognizance of the chargesheet was taken by a magistrate court Jan 5.

Police charged Yadav for rape, kidnapping or abducting a woman, criminal intimidation and voluntarily causing hurt under the Indian Penal Code.

In the over 100-page charge sheet, police cited 44 prosecution witnesses in support of its case.

Police also relied on forensic evidence and placed on record the route map of the car in which the offence was committed.