Taxi app Uber was today banned in New Delhi after one of its drivers was accused of raping a woman he was taking home.
With 32-year-old Shiv Kumar Yadav due to appear in court today charged with rape, transportation official Satish Mathur said the San Francisco-based firm would no longer be able to operate in the Indian capital.
The suspect was arrested yesterday in his hometown south of the city and was taken by police to a New Delhi court. He is accused of raping a businesswoman who got into the car in the city’s Vasant Vihar neighbourhood. She alleges the driver took her to a secluded location before carrying out the attack. In a statement, Uber’s chief executive and co-founder Travis Kalanick said: “What happened over the weekend in New Delhi is horrific.” He added that Uber would “do everything to help bring this perpetrator to justice”.
Indian police said they could launch legal action against Uber, which was recently valued at $40 billion, for not running background checks. Officers claim Yadav was arrested for rape more than three years ago but was later acquitted.
Mr Kalanick said Uber would work with the Indian government to “establish clear background checks currently absent in their commercial transportation licensing programs”.
