Transport authorities have banned the ride-sharing service Uber from the Indian capital New Delhi after a woman accused one of the company's drivers of raping her.
"They have been banned for the future," Ranjana Deswal, the capital's transport authority secretary, told CNN on Monday.
The announcement came the same day the alleged rapist, Shiv Kumar Yadav, appeared in court and was ordered held for three days so police can question him, investigators said. He was arrested Sunday in Mathura, about 100 miles southeast of New Delhi, after a 26-year-old woman said he assaulted her while driving her home from a friend's house Friday night.
The woman scheduled the Uber pickup to take her home after having dinner at the friend's apartment, Madhur Verma, North Delhi's deputy commissioner of police, told CNN. She fell asleep during the ride and woke up to find the driver had parked in a "deserted stretch" and then raped her, Verma said, referring to the woman's complaint.
She said the driver threatened to hurt her if she told anyone what happened and dropped her off, CNN reported. She called police that same night.
When Yadav registered as an Uber driver, he used his correct name but listed a fake address, Verma said. He also said Yadav was previously acquitted of a rape charge in 2012.
It is not clear if Uber, which already faced several scandals in recent months, performed a background check on the suspect. The company said in a statement it "exclusively partners" with registered drivers who have commercial licenses, government-issued IDs and state-issued permits.
Travis Kalanick, Uber's chief executive, said Uber is working with local authorities "to establish clear background checks currently absent in their commercial transportation licensing programs," CNN reported.
Verma disputed Kalanick's statement, saying that "background checks are already part of our established practice."
