Uber cab rape: Mumbai Police to check cab drivers' records

In the backdrop of alleged rape of a woman in a taxi by an Uber cab driver in Delhi, the Mumbai police on Tuesday ordered all 28 private cab operators here to provide data of their drivers, a move aimed at obviating any such incident in the metropolis.

Also, the background of drivers of the regular black and yellow taxis here will be verified, police said. As per traffic police estimates, as many as 15,000 private taxis ply on the city roads, including cool cabs.
"In the wake of Delhi incident, we have decided to obtain and compile the data of drivers of cool cabs as well as regular black and yellow cabs," Deputy Police Commissioner (Spokesperson) Dhananjay Kulkarni said.

"We have asked all 28 private cab operators including Uber, Meru, Tab, Easy, Book My Cab and Ola to share the data of drivers with us whereas the list of regular cab drivers will soon be collected from Road Transport Office," he said. The drive is aimed at thwarting the repeat of Delhi incident in the country's financial capital, he said. The DCP said they will check if any of the drivers have a criminal record.

Another officer said, "If a driver has criminal antecedents, an appropriate preventive action would be initiated against him. If the charges are found serious against the drivers, they may be made to call it quits or recommendation would be made to revoke their licence." A 27-year-old woman executive was allegedly raped on Friday night when the victim, who works for a finance company in Gurgaon, was headed back to her home in north Delhi's Inderlok area in a taxi. The cab driver - Shiv Kumar Yadav - was arrested by Delhi police and international cab-booking service Uber, with which Yadav was associated, was banned in the national capital.