‘Impersonator’ Uber cabbie attempts to abduct woman

NEW DELHI: A 24-year-old woman who called an Uber cab was allegedly locked inside the car by its driver who sexually harassed and threatened her, Delhi Police said on Monday. When the woman tried to escape, the driver allegedly prevented her by activating the car’s central locking system.

Aslam Khan, deputy commissioner of police (north-west), said the accused driver was arrested from a Haryana village where he was found drunk. “The accused driver has been identified as Sanjeev alias Sanju. He was driving the cab despite not being registered with Uber,” said Khan.

“The white Swift car he was driving did not have a yellow commercial number plate and had tinted glasses. The driver did not have a driving licence,” the officer added.

Responding to the allegations, an Uber spokesperson called it a case of “identity theft” and issued a statement saying the company immediately removed the driver partner’s access to the Uber app. “...will take strict action against him (the original driver) for letting an unregistered driver without a licence access his account and take trips via Uber App,” the aggregator said in its statement. There was, however, no response to a query as to how a private vehicle with tinted glasses was allegedly pressed into service.

The woman lives with her husband in outer Delhi’s Rohini and drives to work in Sonepat. On Friday, she chose to hire an Uber cab.