Uber driver accused of rape was out on bail when he committed the crime

The Uber driver accused of raping a passenger in New Delhi was already facing charges for assault, robbery and rape when he allegedly committed the crime, Indian police said Tuesday.

Shiv Kumar Yadav, 32, was arrested and remanded in custody after the passenger, who is in her mid-20s, accused him of raping her after she fell asleep in his cab on Friday night.

The driver was out on bail when he allegedly raped the woman.

Yadav was charged with molestation in 2003, with possessing a weapon without a licence in 2006, and with robbery and rape last year, deputy commissioner for north Delhi police Madhur Verma said.

"We checked with the police in Uttar Pradesh and can now confirm that he has three more criminal cases against him," said Mr Verma, referring to Yadav’s native state in northern India.

"He was out on bail from Uttar Pradesh courts."

Background checks on drivers

The revelation is a major blow to the US-based taxi app service, which is already under fire for failing to carry out adequate background checks on its drivers.

Uber, which lets customers hail and pay for taxis or private vehicles via a smartphone app​, has been banned from operating in the Indian capital and accused of failing to follow local regulations.

Delhi police said earlier that the police certificate provided by the driver was a fake.

The certificate records any criminal charges or convictions against a driver, or the lack of them.

The incident has once again raised the issue of women’s safety in India, days before the second anniversary of a fatal gang-rape of a Delhi student that unleashed widespread outrage.

The victim dozed off in the taxi as she was returning home from dinner. She told police she woke to find the taxi parked in a secluded place where the driver assaulted and raped her, before dumping her near her home in north Delhi.

Source: AFP

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