Uber rape: Rajnath promises to bring offender to justice

"The Government of India strongly condemns this dastardly act. It will be ensured that all necessary steps are taken to bring the offender to justice," Singh asserted the MPs.

Singh said the Transport Department of the government of the NCT of Delhi has banned US-based Uber cab firm from providing any transport related service in the NCT of Delhi.

"The Ministry of Home Affairs has advised the State Governments/ UT Administrations to ensure that the operations of the web based taxi services are stopped and such service providers which are not licensed with the State Governments/ UT Administrations are prohibited to operate till they get themselves registered with the State Governments/ UT Administrations," Singh stated.

According to him, on Friday last, during late evening hours, a 26 year old woman (name withheld for privacy and legal reasons) had hired a taxi through the online cab service ‘Uber’ at around 10.30 PM for going from Vasant Vihar area to Inder Lok in the jurisdiction of PS Sarai Rohilla, North District.

The woman works in Gurgaon and after her office hours she had come to Vasant Vihar with some friends.

The woman reported that while sitting in the taxi, she dozed off for a while and then suddenly realized that the taxi was parked at an isolated place and the driver was trying to molest her on the back seat.

"She tried to raise an alarm but the driver threatened her of physical injury and then she was sexually assaulted in the car. After committing the crime the driver dropped her at her home at around 1 AM and threatened her again not to disclose about the incident to anyone," Singh said.

"As soon as information was received by the police, a case was registered vide FIR No. 1291/14 dated 6.12.14, U/S 376/323/506 IPC PS Sarai Rohilla. Immediately police teams were formed to identify and locate the culprit. The woman was sent for medical examination and she was also counselled by an NGO volunteer authorized by Delhi Commission for Women," the Minister stated.

"Following the clues at hand and through painstaking investigation, the culprit driver was zeroed down as one person from Mathura, owner of the vehicle Swift Desire No. DL-1YD 7910. He has this vehicle registered with Uber Cab Service," Singh added.

The vehicle used in the crime has been found and brought to Delhi where it will be subjected to thorough forensic examination.

The accused was arrested on Sunday from Mathura and was brought to Delhi where he was produced before the court on Monday.

He has been sent to three days police remand.

The Delhi Police is also exploring the issue of possible legal liability of the taxi service ‘Uber’, in the crime committed, Singh said.

The Union Minister also said all suggestions from the MPs of Oppositions will also be incorporated in ensuring the safety of women across India.

He said from 370, the PCR vans have been increased to over 1000, also asking the vans to not wait for the call to '100' and rush to the spot of crime.

Singh also said number of CCTV cameras have been increased adding that the government has indentified 255 isolated locations and increased the security there.

He said GPS system has been made mandatory for all the taxies and that women are being trained for 15 days for their self security.

Singh also said Delhi has the highest conviction rate than rest of the country. The national capital has maximum number of fast track courts.

Meanwhile, within the own BJP government at the centre there seems to be a difference of opinion with Union Home Minister asking state governments to ban them while Transport Minister  Nitin Gadkari voicing that "banning services is not a solution to the problem" since then all modes of transport - be it train or bus- where such crimes occur- have to be prohibited.

Singh, however, refused to comment on that statement.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Police Commissioner S Bassi met Singh over the case.

Uber, the US company launched in 2009 which now operates in over 200 cities worldwide, has been banned, Delhi Transport officials said.

The company is under scanner and its CEO in India has been called by authorities. Reports said FIR has been lodged against Uber, which apparently had double standards in verifying records of drivers in India and elsewhere in other parts of the world.

After the alleged rape last Friday, in a petition on change.org, petitioner Alina said Uber has double standards when it comes to the safety of its users in India.

The petition said "this driver was a repeat offender and had spent seven months in Tihar jail in a sexual assault case. This is outrageous!"

If your company had run a background check and got police verification done, this crime could have been avoided. "What's worse, you have a three step background check process in the US but not in India. These are double standards," it said.

Uber on its website says: “All Uber ridesharing and livery partners must go through a rigorous background check that leads the industry. The three-step screening we’ve developed across the United States, which includes county, federal and multi-state checks, has set a new standard. These checks go back 7 years. We apply this comprehensive and new industry standard consistently across all Uber products, including uberX.”

The petitioner asked why do they have these double standards then?

"Why aren’t the Indian Uber drivers subjected to the same process of background checks?"

Reports said accused cab driver Shiv Kumar Yadav, who had submitted fake verification certificates to the company and has previously served in jail in a sexual assault case, has confessed to raping the woman in the cab on Friday night, but has not shown any regret or remorse.