Examining legal liability of Uber in rape case: Delhi top cop

New Delhi, Dec 9: Delhi Police is examining legal liability of Uber taxi service and probing how the fake police verification certificate was provided to the accused in the rape of a 27-year-old woman in a cab in the national capital, Commissioner BS Bassi said today.

"Delhi (govt) has issued a notification banning the activities of Uber in Delhi. Police verification certificate was found to be false. An FIR has been registered and it will be probed so that the guilty are punished.

"We are also legally examining what action can be taken against Uber for not fulfilling its promises," Bassi told reporters after briefing Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Parliament on the progress of the investigation into the case.

Asked about Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari's disagreement with the decision to ban Uber cab services in Delhi in the wake of the rape, Bassi said, "I do not know about the statement. But we are examining the legal liability.

"It is our endeavour to ensure that women are 100 per cent safe and can go anywhere without any problem." Delhi Police is taking all steps to ensure that crimes against women are not suppressed, Bassi said, adding that, with a view to ensuring women's safety, 5,000 cameras have been installed already while 10,000 more are proposed to be installed in various parts of the city.

"Women now feel empowered to complain. We also have to impart self-defence training. In the last one year, we have imparted self-defence training to 14,000 women.

"There is a need to increase so that the gap in physical capacity between women and men is addressed and women can defend themselves," he said.

The top cop said that the government has decided to increase the number of women personnel in Delhi Police. A total of 1,250 women constables have been hired and they will be on the streets of the national capital after around eight months, he said.

"There are certain areas in the city where there is a high rate of crimes against women, especially the localities of the weaker sections of society. We have deployed women police personnel in beats so that they can directly interact with the women of such areas and talk to them about there problems," he said.

PTI