Arrested Uber Driver Was Jailed Earlier Too on Rape Charges: Sources
Cities | Edited by Deepshikha Ghosh | Updated: December 08, 2014 09:19 IST
Shiv Kumar Yadav, the Uber cab driver arrested for allegedly raping a woman on Friday
NEW DELHI: A driver with popular taxi service Uber arrested for allegedly raping a woman passenger in Delhi on Friday is a repeat offender; he was involved in a rape case in 2011 but his criminal record apparently went unchecked when he was hired.
The Delhi police say Shiv Kumar Yadav, 32, was imprisoned for seven months in the Tihar jail in the rape case. How he was hired by the global taxi service without a basic background check is what the police are investigating.
The cab driver will be produced in a Delhi court today.
The rape survivor, a 27-year-old woman working with a finance company in Gurgaon near Delhi, has said in her complaint that she fell asleep in the cab, a Maruti Suzuki Dzire, and woke up to find it parked at a deserted spot and Yadav touching her. The driver then allegedly raped her.
She told the police that the driver dropped her near her home in north Delhi and threatened to shove an iron rod inside her - a chilling reminder of the December 2012 gang-rape of a medical student who was tortured with an iron rod - if she complained.
The only link Uber had with the driver, the police said, was a phone given to him with an app installed. But since he had switched off the phone, it became impossible to track him.
The police say they had to wait for three hours on Saturday at the Uber office to get information on the man. (What it took to Find the Uber driver accused of rape)
In a statement on Sunday, Uber said, "This is an abhorrent crime. Our thoughts remain with the victim who has shown tremendous courage under the circumstances. Upon being notified of this incident, our team immediately provided the local authorities with all relevant details."
The police say a case of negligence can be made out - if Uber had followed safeguards, the rape may have been prevented.
Yadav, who had been driving for Uber for six months, did not go through police verification that is mandatory for cab drivers. He also did not have a Public Service Vehicle licence issued for commercial vehicles and his car did not have a Global Positioning System.
The Delhi police say Shiv Kumar Yadav, 32, was imprisoned for seven months in the Tihar jail in the rape case. How he was hired by the global taxi service without a basic background check is what the police are investigating.
The cab driver will be produced in a Delhi court today.
The rape survivor, a 27-year-old woman working with a finance company in Gurgaon near Delhi, has said in her complaint that she fell asleep in the cab, a Maruti Suzuki Dzire, and woke up to find it parked at a deserted spot and Yadav touching her. The driver then allegedly raped her.
She told the police that the driver dropped her near her home in north Delhi and threatened to shove an iron rod inside her - a chilling reminder of the December 2012 gang-rape of a medical student who was tortured with an iron rod - if she complained.
The only link Uber had with the driver, the police said, was a phone given to him with an app installed. But since he had switched off the phone, it became impossible to track him.
The police say they had to wait for three hours on Saturday at the Uber office to get information on the man. (What it took to Find the Uber driver accused of rape)
In a statement on Sunday, Uber said, "This is an abhorrent crime. Our thoughts remain with the victim who has shown tremendous courage under the circumstances. Upon being notified of this incident, our team immediately provided the local authorities with all relevant details."
The police say a case of negligence can be made out - if Uber had followed safeguards, the rape may have been prevented.
Yadav, who had been driving for Uber for six months, did not go through police verification that is mandatory for cab drivers. He also did not have a Public Service Vehicle licence issued for commercial vehicles and his car did not have a Global Positioning System.
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