International cab-booking service Uber was banned today in the national capital, a day after one of its drivers was arrested for allegedly raping a 27-year-old woman executive amid growing outrage over the incident which renewed focus on safety measures for women.
The Delhi government also blacklisted Uber from providing any transport service in the capital as it emerged that the accused Shiv Kumar Yadav was a repeat offender who had spent seven months in jail in a rape case earlier.
As per norms, it is mandatory for all private cab service providers to carry out a background check and obtain police verification of the drivers.
32-year-old Yadav was today remanded in police custody for three days by a Delhi court. He will be in police custody till December 11. Police said Yadav, who was arrested in Mathura on Sunday, needs to be interrogated for recovery of a mobile phone used by him.
Yadav, who was driving the uber cab, allegedly raped the woman on Friday night when the victim, who works for a finance company in Gurgaon, was headed back to her home in north Delhi's Inderlok area.
"The transport department has banned all activities related to providing of any transport service by www.Uber.Com with immediate effect. The department has also blacklisted the company from providing any transport service in the NCT of Delhi in future," the Delhi government said in a statement.
The police said that during investigations prime facie it has emerged that criminal negligence was made out on the part of Uber as a number of alleged shortcomings were found on their part as neither the driver was verified nor there was a GPS tracking device in the car.
Meanwhile, the city witnessed protests at various places including outside Home Minister Rajnath Singh's residence. Holding placards and chanting anti-government slogans, the protesters demanded better security for women and punishment for the driver.
