New Delhi, Dec 11: Radio taxi company Uber’s woes mounted as four states – Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh – banned the US-based company while a court in the capital Thursday sent the cab driver, accused of raping a 25-year-old woman, to 14 days’ judicial custody.
While the Karnataka government banned Uber and three other cab operators from plying taxis in state capital Bengaluru from Friday, Maharashtra said it will follow the advisory given by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
Tamil Nadu, however, refused to ban the cab company but said it would take “necessary precautions”.
The transport departments of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have also banned Uber, and made it clear that the taxi company has no permission to operate.
They also advised people to refrain from hiring app-based cab services.
Transport authorities in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts continued their crackdown on unauthorised cab operators for the second consecutive day Thursday, a Telangana government official said in Hyderabad.
Special teams of the Road Transport Authority of Telangana checked cabs in and around Hyderabad and seized vehicles operated in violation of norms.
The Telangana official said Uber was not a travel company and it has no license to operate.
“We have banned Uber, TaxiForSure, Cars on Rent and Zoomcar from operating their taxis in the city under the statutory city taxi scheme, as they have not registered with us,” Karnataka transport commissioner Rame Gowda told IANS in Bengaluru.
A Maharashtra government official said: “We will follow the central government advisory (banning all web-based taxi services)… a formal order will be given later as the assembly is in session right now.”
Tamil Nadu said it was not proposing a ban on taxis as the operators have decided to share the driver data on a common website.
“Police have asked the operators to speed up their drivers’ background verification and to recruit drivers with address proof,” said a Tamil Nadu government official.
The development comes in the wake of the home ministry Tuesday asking state governments and union territories to ban all web-based taxi services if they have not registered with the state transport department.
Meanwhile in Delhi, Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey sent Shiv Kumar Yadav, the 32-year-old driver accused of rape, to judicial custody till Dec 24 after police told the court he was not required for further custodial interrogation in the Dec 5 rape case.
Yadav was among the drivers attached to Uber and ferried passengers who availed the company’s services.
He was arrested Sunday from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh and was sent by a court to three days’ police custody Monday.
After expiry of his police custody, Yadav was presented Thursday in a crowded courtroom amidst tight security.
Lawyers of Tis Hazari court, who are on an indefinite strike over the delay in tabling the amendment bill regarding enhancement of pecuniary jurisdiction of district courts, told the magistrate that none of the lawyers will appear in court but assured that they will not interfere with legal proceedings.
Police told the court that they have recovered the case property and lodged a separate first information report against the accused driver for using a fake driving licence.
They informed the court that a case of cheating and violating lawful orders was lodged Tuesday against the cab booking company.
Police also detained a tout who allegedly arranged the fake character certificate for the driver and also helped him get a tourist permit from the Burari transport office.
Uber was Thursday asked to submit the details of all its drivers to police, a day after the company’s Asia-Pacific head Eric Alexander was questioned by Delhi Police for the second consecutive day Wednesday.
The US-based taxi company has already given the details of the accused driver to the police.
A Delhi Police officer Thursday said that if needed, the company officials could be called again for questioning.
“We will again question Uber officials if required,” Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Brijender Singh Yadav told IANS.
Uber has stopped its services after a written notice was handed over to them by the Delhi government and Delhi Police.
Meanwhile, BJP parliamentarian Meenakshi Lekhi Thursday met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and demanded the formation of a committee of MPs to work on women’s security. (IANS)