The cab he was driving was a registered 'Kaali-Peeli', which is usually a trusted cab service. The Uber rape case, in which a registered sexual offender, raped a 25-year-old woman in a Uber taxi in December last year, had shockingly revealed security lapses in private taxi services.
In the second rape in a registered taxi in a span of four months the Capital has again brought back to focus the worrying issue of women's safety in public places. The accused in the case 38-year-old Ramesh Kumar, a resident of Najafgarh, is a repeat offender and has been sent to jail before for several offences.
The cab he was driving was a registered 'Kaali-Peeli', which is usually a trusted cab service. The Uber rape case, in which a registered sexual offender, raped a 25-year-old woman in a Uber taxi in December last year, had shockingly revealed security lapses in private taxi services. Uber, a multi-national taxi service, has since steadfastedly stayed away from helping the survivor. Instead, it is currently engaged in trying to quash a complaint the survivor has made at a US court against it.
Security lapses are a norm. Ravind, a taxi driver who plies in a stand in Central Delhi, says that on some days he lets his brother's son run his taxi. "He's unemployed and is from the village. There are days when I let him drive the taxi," says Ravind. He also adds that his nephew does not have security clearance from the police. Rajesh, a taxi driver in South Delhi, says that his taxi does not have a security clearance.
According to the Delhi Statistical Handbook data, there are 5,071 radio taxis, 3,435 economy radio taxis and 22,138 tourist taxis. Apart from that, there are 12,000 local kaali-peeli taxis. Till 2014, there were about 78,686 taxis registered in Delhi. Also, most taxis do not have the mandatory GPS tracking services required to ply in Delhi, said police officials.
"We have specific instructions about security arrangements of women working in BPOs, who travel between 8 pm to 7 am. But, the security of women in public transport comes under the purview of the transport commissioner," said a police official, adding that dark spots in the city are usually under police surveillance. The Delhi police, which launched the Himmat helpline and app in January, has recently received a rap from the Delhi high court this week for not maintaining the app properly. Officials, who called the helpline, did not receive any calls from the helpline, observed the court.
Jugmati Sangwan of the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) said that the huge security lapses are proof that there is lack of will power of authorities. "The highest authorities of these services should be given exemplary punishment. They should have stricter policies in place, and see to it that not implementing these comes with a punishment," said Sangwan. "Repeat offenders are driving cabs. Uber had 5,000 cabs, which was not even registered as per norms. How do these lapses happen?"
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