Uber cab rape case: Investigating officer faces court's ire

NEW DELHI: The investigating officer in the Uber cab rape case today came under fire by a Delhi court when she was unable to respond properly to its queries, including that on the probe into the alleged fake licence possessed by the accused driver.

"Whether the driving licence of Yadav was genuine or fake and when was he hired by the cab provider firm," Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey asked Investigating Officer Renu who remained silent.

When she was unable to reply, the court asked, "Who is the real IO in the case? She does not know anything."

This prompted another police officer to respond to the court's query, saying 32-year-old driver Shiv Kumar Yadav's licence has been found to be fake and he was employed by the firm a month ago.

The court also asked, "Did the company get his particulars verified? If no, then against whom you have registered a case?"

To this, the police officials said Yadav was hired by US-based Uber company and it had not verified his particulars and they have lodged a case of cheating against the firm.

Yadav was produced in the court on expiry of his three-day police custody and the magistrate remanded him in judicial custody till December 24.

Yadav, who was driving the cab, had allegedly raped the woman on the night of December 5 when the victim, who works for a finance company in Gurgaon, was headed back to her home in north Delhi's Inderlok area.