Uber taxi driver convicted of raping passenger in India

A court in India has found a former driver for the taxi service Uber guilty of raping a female passenger last year. The 25-year-old woman was raped and beaten after hailing a ride with Shiv Kumar Yadav in India’s capital New Delhi in December 2014. He was convicted of rape, kidnapping and criminal intimidation, Atul Kumar Shrivastava, a government lawyer acting for the prosecution, confirmed. Yadav will be sentenced on Friday. He faces a maximum life imprisonment.

We’ve made many improvements … as a result of the lessons we learned from this awful case.

President of Uber India, Amit Jain

The attack further added to public outrage in India over authorities’ failure to clamp down on widespread sexual violence, particularly in New Delhi. In 2012, the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old student on a bus in the city shone a spotlight on the issue and sparked fierce protests across the country. Four men sentenced to death have had their executions put on hold while they appeal. The latest conviction comes four days after a two-year-old and five-year-old girl were raped in separate attacks in the capital, prompting fresh calls for greater security for women and girls.

Justice has been served and this will be a deterrent for other persons who still think to commit such types of things.

Kumar Shrivastava, a government lawyer

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