Advertisement

India widens investigation of Uber amid rape allegation

 
Published Dec. 10, 2014

The online car service Uber faced further pressure in India on Tuesday as New Delhi police opened criminal investigations and national officials called for clampdowns on all Web-hailing taxis after allegations of rape against a Uber driver.

The Delhi Commission for Women summoned the local Uber chief, Gagan Bhatia, to its office for questioning amid the fallout that has revived debates over women's safety in India.

The response — including a ban on Uber in New Delhi imposed Monday — could prompt further scrutiny across India and elsewhere as Uber, which is based in San Francisco, and other online car services expand globally.

On Tuesday, Thailand's transport department ordered Uber to cease operations because its drivers were not registered and its payment system violated local regulations. In Spain, a judge ordered a temporary suspension of Uber around the country as Madrid's Taxi Association prepares possible legal action over alleged breaches in rules governing competition and permits.

The New Delhi preliminary criminal report accuses Uber of flouting local laws including failing to conduct background checks. On Monday, Uber's CEO, Travis Kalanick, promised to work with Indian authorities on issues such as vetting drivers.

The real problem, officials and taxi companies said, remains the haphazard manner in which driving licenses are granted, and the lack of coordination between departments in sharing data about criminal records.

The Uber cab driver arrested for last week's alleged rape, Shiv Kumar Yadav, was charged twice earlier for sexual assault, in 2011 and 2013, police said Tuesday.

Shrikant Singh, a police official, told reporters that Yadav has a long criminal history. At the time of his arrest, he was out on bail awaiting various trials.

The rape allegations also have reignited concerns about women's safety in India and the inability to provide safe transport for women in the night. Two years ago, major protests erupted after the fatal gang rape of a young woman in a moving bus.

Despite the Uber ban, many passengers in New Delhi continued to order its cabs on Tuesday.

"I have just driven one Uber passenger … people are still booking us because the cellphone app has apparently not shut down," driver Ram Swaroop Verma said.