Uber cab driver, who was caught masturbating by woman on way to Hyderabad airport on Oct 19, arrested

Cyberabad police has arrested the Uber cab driver, who was caught masturbating while ferrying a woman to the Hyderabad airport recently.

Police have arrested the accused cab owner-cum-driver, identified as 26-year-old Prem Kumar, under Sections 354 A and 509 of the IPC and remanded them to judicial custody. Kumar is a resident of Rangareddy district.

Uber had barred the driver from accessing the taxi app. India Today had reported what exactly happened as the woman narrated her ordeal. The woman, a resident of Kondapur from Gachibowli area of Hyderabad, had taken an Uber cab on October 19 for the city airport, from where she was supposed to catch a flight for Delhi. When the car hit the Outer Ring Road, the driver slowed down the car and started staring at the woman through the rearview mirror. To her utter horror, the woman realised that the driver had unzipped his trousers and was masturbating inside the car in full public view.

It was only after she threatened him for about 3 to 4 minutes saying that she would call the police that he stopped the car. Disgusted, she got off the vehicle and reached the airport finally in another cab.

As soon as she landed at the Delhi Airport, the woman called 1091 and lodged a complaint with the Safdarjung Police station. She has also posted her complaint on Facebook. The same has been received by Commissioner of Police, Cyberabad. The police contacted the woman after receiving her complaint. The same has been registered as a criminal case under Sections 354 A and 509 of the IPC at Madhapur Police Station. DCP, Madhapur formed two special teams and confiscated the car and arrested the accused driver. The owner-cum-driver has been remanded to judicial custody.

Speaking to India Today after learning of the Uber driver's arrest, the woman said, "I am extemely thankful to the Hyderabad police for arresting him so quickly. I am also grateful to the media - news channels and the social media for raising awareness. The larger question is how do we prevent such incidents from recurring. Uber must come up with concrete answers on how it's changing its mode of functioning to see to it that all drivers are carefully vetted and passenger safety is ensured."

DCP Viswaprasad said that the negligence on the part of Uber would also be investigated in detail. Cyberabad Police Commissioner Sandeep Shandilya has appreciated the good work of Madhapur police.

UBER CONTACTS AGGRIEVED WOMAN, PROMISES STERNEST MEASURES

The woman, who put up a Facebook post on October 19 narrating the harrowing experience she had to go through, said today that she got a call from Uber, who promised to take all possible measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents. She said, "They discussed a few issues, apart from being apologetic for what happened that day. The Uber team confirmed that it was re-examining all driver profiles that had a single alphabet as first name. The team, I was told, was still discussing internally whether full driver names can be displayed in their app to help ascertain their identity faster."

The woman added that she asked the Uber team whether it was possible for people to have a copy of the vehicle's number and driver contact details before their trip. This as usually, the vehicle's number and driver contact details get removed from records as soon as the trip is over or it gets cancelled.

She went on to say that when the Hyderabad police was checking the CCTV footage, it struggled to trace the culprit as there was no way to check the exact route taken by the cab. She said she was awaiting a response from Uber on what the taxi service was planning to do about partially completed trips.

Meanwhile, reacting to the incident, an Uber spokesperson has said, "This is a regrettable incident, and we are all concerned about it. We will continue to fully support law-enforcement officials in their investigation."

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