New Delhi: Uber cab driver sent to judicial custody in forgery case

New Delhi, Dec 19: The driver of US-based cab service provider Uber, who was arrested for allegedly raping a 27-year -old woman executive here, was on Friday remanded in judicial custody till January 2 by a Delhi court in connection with a separate forgery case lodged against him.

Metropolitan Magistrate Jagminder Singh denied the plea of Delhi Police seeking extension of police custody of driver Shiv Kumar Yadav and Javneet Singh, alleged to be a tout who had purportedly assisted Yadav in procuring fake character certificate.

The court rejected the plea for police custody, saying, "No purpose has been cited by the investigating officer (IO) necessitating further custodial interrogation of the two accused." They were remanded in 14 days judicial custody. Yadav and Singh were produced in the court after expiry their police custody.

The investigating officer of the forgery case had sought extension of police custody of both the accused by one day.

Delhi Legal Services Authority counsel Nisha Sahni, who represented Yadav, opposed the plea of police custody, saying no purpose has been cited for extension of remand. According to the police, Yadav had got All India Tourist Permit after submitting the character certificate to the State Transport Authority in Burari here.

Yadav was arrested on December 7 from Mathura

It had said Singh had taken Rs 2,000 from Yadav and had forged the character certificate on the seal of the Delhi Police and got it attested from a notary.

The police had said 32-year-old Yadav, accused of raping a woman here on the night of December 5, had told the investigators that he had procured the fake character certificate issued in the name of an Additional DCP of Delhi Police through an agent of a finance company. Yadav is also in judicial custody in the rape case till December 24.

According to the police, Yadav had allegedly raped the woman when the victim, who works for a finance company in Gurgaon, was headed back to her home in north Delhi's Inderlok area. He was arrested on December 7 from Mathura in a joint operation by Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Police.

Earlier, Yadav had refused to undergo test identification parade (TIP), saying the girl had already seen his photograph in Uber's website and she will definitely identify him.

PTI