New Delhi: US-based cab booking firm Uber, which is under scrutiny in connection with a rape case, has a total of 4,000 drivers on its roll but it did not have any idea whether they have police verification or posses mandatory Public Service Vehicle (PSV) badge.
Uber's General Manager (Marketing) Gagan Bhatia told this to investigators probing the rape of a 27-year-old executive allegedly by a driver of the firm on Friday night which evoked widespread outrage.
The Asia-Pacific head of Uber, Alexander flew in from Hong Kong today and met senior police officials to cooperate in the investigation.Police has issued a notice under section 91 CrPC to him to provide certain documents of the company.
“We have asked him to submit documents under eight pointers which include details of all the taxis amd its drivers working with them and how you checked their antecedents and the details of the directors of the company,” said a senior police official.
Police has already filed an FIR against Uber charging it of cheating its customers and defying government orders. Uber's executives were questioned by police for the second consecutive day today.
The company was banned from operating in the city by Delhi government yesterday.Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Madhur Verma said Bhatia told investigators that Uber have around 4,000 drivers but it did not carry out checking to know whether the cabbies had police verification certificate or possessed PSV. PSV is mandatory for drivers of all public service vehicles in Delhi.
The woman executive was raped allegedly by Shiv Kumar Yadav, a driver with Uber on Friday night. Now it has emerged that he is serial sex offender who was allegedly involved in two separate cases of rape in 2011 and 2013. Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi said police was examining legal liability of Uber.
“We are also legally examining what action can be taken against Uber for not fulfilling its promises,” Bassi said.
Police has also found that Uber and other similar companies which operate online platforms linking drivers with customers are registered in India as technology businesses rather than transport companies.
Prima facie it has emerged that the company had not formulated procedures to honor the promise of a safe service it advertised about and which people, especially women trust while traveling with them at odd hours.
