Delhi Police arrests rape accused Uber cab driver

Two days after an Uber cab driver allegedly raped a young finance executive in Delhi, he has been arrested from Mathura and will be produced in court on Monday. The Delhi Police used 12 teams who were dispatched to Mathura to nab the 32-year-old Shiv Kumar Yadav who was located after a 25-minute chase by tracing his cell number.

"We have arrested the accused in the cab case from Mathura and he is being brought to Delhi," DCP North Madhur Verma said.

The incident took place on Friday night when the woman hired the cab and fell asleep in the vehicle. Later, the driver allegedly took her to a desolate spot and raped her.

Though with the arrest of the accused in this case, one part of the investigation is over, the Delhi Police is now looking at the role of the Uber cab service provider who has been sent a notice under section 161 of Indian Penal Code to join the investigation.

According to our sources in Delhi Police, there are several lapses on Uber's part which probably led to this heinous crime being committed. Every commercial driver needs to have a commercial badge. However, sources say that Yadav did not have that the badge.

Uber also had not conducted a background check and verification of the driver before recruiting him. It is responsibility of the cab service provider to get the identity verified through police. The address given by Yadav was not where he used to stay. Even the phone number that he was using was not registered on his name.

There were three drivers who drove the Swift Dzire. At any given point, Uber didn't know which of the three was driving as there was only one phone with the Uber app. In fact, after the incident, the police had to download the cab services' app and order an Uber cab to reach its 3-room office in Gurgaon.

Meanwhile, denying any laxity in sevurity services, Uber vowed to fully cooperate with the police in the investigation. "Our team immediately provided the local authorities with all relevant details. Uber exclusively partners with registered for-hire drivers who have undergone the commercial licensing process, hold government issued IDs, state-issued permits, and carry full commercial insurance. Uber also has a GPS trace and record of all trips that occur on the platform. This information has been shared with the authorities. We will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement officials," Uber said in a statement.

Post the December 16 horrific gangrape, several checks were introduced to ensure women's safety. However, incidents like these show the need for more institutional changes for radio cab services to make the streets of Delhi truly safe for women.