Uber driver sent to police custody for 3 days, says ‘I made a mistake, what can I do?’
New Delhi: The driver working with US-based cab service provider Uber, arrested for allegedly raping a 27-year old women executive here, was on Monday sent to three-day police custody by a Delhi court for questioning and recovery of the mobile phone used by him in the offence.
Shiv Kumar Yadav, who was arrested on Sunday from Mathura in a joint operation by Delhi and Uttar Pradesh police, was produced with his face muffled before Metropolitan Magistrate Ambika Singh, who accepted the plea of investigators for his custodial investigation.
Read: Delhi government bans Uber cab service following ‘rape’ incident
According to television reports, Shiv Kumar Yadav told the investigation officer, "Mujhse galti ho gayi, main kya karoon? (I made a mistake, what can I do?)". The arrested driver also allegedly confessed he threatened to kill woman.
32-year-old Yadav refused to undergo Test Identification Parade (TIP), a process under the criminal law through which a victim identifies an accused, saying the girl has already seen his photograph in Uber's website and she will definitely identify him as the accused.
Read: Delhi rape: Uber CEO blames ‘unclear background checks’ in statement
The accused declined to undergo the TIP even after a warning by the court that his refusal may go against him. Soon after the court proceedings, while Yadav was being taken to the police vehicle, his face was uncovered giving a chance to photojournalists to click him.
While allowing the custodial interrogation of Yadav, whom the police has claimed to be a repeat offender, the magistrate said, "For thorough investigation and as the case property, i.e. mobile phone, is yet to be recovered, three days' police custody is granted. Let him be produced on December 11."
The proceedings saw Yadav being represented by advocate from Delhi State Legal Authority, Vinit Malhotra, who opposed the custodial interrogation, saying that the vehicle has been recovered and no purpose will be served by sending him in police custody as there were reasonable apprehension that he will be subjected to torture.
However, his request for sending the accused to judicial custody was rejected and the court allowed the plea of police that accused was required to be taken to the places associated with the offence.
Read: Uber cab driver a repeat offender, was arrested in a rape case in 2011: Delhi police
Yadav, who was driving the cab, allegedly raped the woman on Friday night when the victim, who works for a finance company in Gurgaon, was headed back to her home in north Delhi's Inderlok area.
