Uber Car Service Driver Accused of Raping Woman During India Taxi Ride
Police have announced a $1,600, or 1 lakh rupees, reward for the arrest of an Uber driver who raped a 27-year-old woman in New Delhi on Friday night.
The driver, identified as 32-year-old Shiv Kumar Yadav, is from a town 100 miles away from India's capital, where the incident took place, according to India.com.
Police announced the reward Sunday, after the car registered to Yadav was found abandoned in the city Saturday night.
"The vehicle has been found and is being brought to Delhi, and FSL examination by forensic experts will be done here. Twelve teams are carrying out the search operation, and we are getting full support from local police at Mathura," Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat said.
In addition, the police have issued a notice to Uber, the U.S.-based company that offers private cab services in major cities around the world. It is headquartered in New York and has become considerable competition to traditional taxi services.
Private cab companies are typically trusted in Delhi, where international attention has recently turned to the number of rape cases reported, and the cabs are used by working women and college students who consider them safe at all hours.
Uber has agreed to help in the investigation and suspended the account of the registered driver.
"Our thoughts are with the victim of this terrible crime and we are working with the police as they investigate. We will assist them in any way we can. It is also our policy to immediately suspend a driver's account following allegations of a serious incident, which we have done," Uber spokeswoman Evelyn Tay said. "Safety is Uber's highest priority, and in India, we work with licenced driver-partners to provide a safe transportation option, with layers of safeguards such as driver and vehicle information, and ETA-sharing to ensure there is accountability and traceability of all trips that occur on the Uber platform."
Yadav did not have a driver's license issued by the Delhi Transport Authority. Smartphone App for Uber, which he exited after the incident, was the only link the company has to him.
The incident took place more than a week ahead of the second anniversary of the Dec. 16 gang rape in Delhi, which first spurred international outrage at the horrific crime.
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