Uber Banned In Indian Capital Region After Rape Accusations On Driver

Uber has been banned in India's capital Delhi and National Capital Region after one of the drivers of the famous cab service provider allegedly raped and threatened a female passenger. This incident prompted the Indian capital's transport department to ban the operation of the cab service in the area.

The alleged driver has been nabbed down and is now under arrest. The incident happened when a 26-year-old woman hired an Uber cab on a Friday night. She accidentally fell asleep in the back seat only to discover that the cab was already parked at a secluded place, and its driver was sitting beside her. He then allegedly raped the passenger and even threatened to kill her if she dared screamed for help.

The alleged rape committed by the U.S. ridesharing service provider's driver has triggered countrywide protests, which led the concerned department to ban the service from its region. The company is also being blamed for the gory incident as it failed to implement security measures, such as fingerprinting or conducting a background check before hiring the tainted Uber driver, who was acquitted in another similar rape case in 2011.

Local and international tabloids described the incident as carelessness on the part of Uber. The incident has revealed many shortcomings in the company's India operation. Another tabloid declared that the company's phone number and address could not be found on its official website, and the investigators have to actually book a cab from its app to obtain the required information.

Valued at $40 billion, Uber faces several controversial allegations in several other countries as well. Its conduct has always been under scrutiny since its inception in 2009. Last month, an Uber executive threatened to dig personal information of a journalist, who was chronicling the stories of sexual misconduct of Uber drivers in the U.S.

New York Times has reported that lawmakers in Thailand and Vietnam have also banned the service, and the city government in Seoul, South Korea is on the verge of doing the same. Meanwhile, Uber has always faced a tough market in Germany. In September, the court declared that since the company did not comply with German laws, it is officially banned from using unlicensed taxi drivers.

Toronto authorities are also getting ready to fight the ride-sharing service in court, as it is jeopardising public safety. Nevada issued a statewide ban against Uber last week, after which it stopped working in that region.