A 40-year-old driver, employed with US-based cab aggregation service Uber and accused of molesting a Delhi-based dance teacher over the weekend, was arrested on Tuesday even as the Delhi Government issued a stern warning to web-app based cab operators to get their act together in the wake of the incident.
Vinod, who drove the complainant to Gurgaon’s Suncity before kissing and trying to subject her to further sexual abuse around 9:30 p.m. on May 30, was arrested under Section 354 (A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at his residence in Dwarka by a team of the Gurgaon Police.
A Gurgaon court, however, granted him bail. He is understood to have joined the San Francisco-based cab service as a driver partner in early May. Uber, which was banned by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) post the sexual assault of a private executive aboard one of its vehicles by a man accused of prior sexual misconduct, said this wasn’t the case with Vinod.
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“Vinod had a valid Public Service Vehicle badge and commercial licence issued in Delhi which had been authenticated by our team, as well as a valid Police Verification - all confirming this driver partner had no prior recorded history of any inappropriate conduct,” Uber said in a statement. Meanwhile, the Delhi Government said it would write to the Centre in relation to the ‘proper enforcement’ of the MHA-issued ban on web-based app services.
The Hindu had highlighted the ‘technical difficulties’ being faced by both the Delhi and the Central Governments in implementing the ban in a report on Tuesday.
“We will not issue licence to Uber and Ola Cabs to operate their taxis in the Capital unless they comply with the ban already imposed on their services by the government,” said Transport Minister Gopal Rai. “The government will soon send a reminder to the Central Government to take action against Uber and Ola Cabs for not complying with the ban. As the Delhi Government cannot block their apps, we will again approach the Centre to do the same,” he said.
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