Uber cab rape: ‘Rapist's’ parents seek tough punishment for son

New Delhi: The Uber cab driver accused of raping a 27-year-old executive has been a serial sexual offender and was out on bail in a rape case in 2013 besides being involved in similar case in 2011, police said on Monday calling him a "big time rogue".

As the residents of Ram Nagar village in Mainpuri celebrate his arrest, Shiv Kumar's parents too want a severe punishment for him, according to reports. Mother Ganga Shri was quoted as saying, “If my son is guilty, he should be punished.”

His father Ramnath Yadav added that though few cases had been registered in the past, he had not been convicted in any of those.

Earlier, 32-year-old Shiv Kumar had allegedly raped a woman in Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh last year and was involved in at least two more cases including molestating another woman, investigators said.

On Monday, it has emerged that Yadav was arrested in a rape case in South Delhi's Mehrauli area in 2011 and had even spent seven months in Tihar jail. He was however acquitted in the case.

"UP police has found that he was involved in at least three more case in the city including a case of rape and a molestation which were lodged in Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh. He was out on bail," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Madhur Verma.

He said Yadav was arrested for separate cases of molestation in 2003, under Arms Act in 2006 and rape and robbery in 2013 in Mainpuri, his home town. "Accused Shiv Kumar Yadav of Uber Rape case has now emerged as a big time rogue of Mainpuri. His previous criminal involvements in Mainpuri started when he was just 21-year-old in year 2003.

"He was out on bail on all these cased from UP Court when he allegedly committed rape of the 27-year-old woman here on Friday," said the police official.

He also has two cases under the Goonda Act against him in Mainpuri. Yadav basically hails from Elau Police Station are of Mainpuri.

Meanwhile, it is learnt Yadav provided a fake police verification certificate to Uber. The police are probing how that came about, Commissioner BS Bassi said on Tuesday.

"Delhi has issued a notification banning the activities of Uber in Delhi. Yadav’s police verification certificate was found to be false. An FIR has been registered and it will be probed so that the guilty are punished."

Read: Delhi government bans all unregistered Internet taxi firms after Uber rape case

"We are also legally examining what action can be taken against Uber for not fulfilling its promises," Bassi told reporters after briefing Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Parliament on the progress of the investigation into the case.

Asked about Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari's disagreement with the decision to ban Uber cab services in Delhi in the wake of the rape, Bassi said, "I do not know about the statement. But we are examining the legal liability. It is our endeavour to ensure that women are 100 per cent safe and can go anywhere without any problem."

Read: No sense to ban cab services, says Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Uber rape case

Delhi Police is taking all steps to ensure that crimes against women are not suppressed, Bassi said, adding that, with a view to ensuring women's safety, 5,000 cameras have been installed already while 10,000 more are proposed to be installed in various parts of the city.

"Women now feel empowered to complain. We also have to impart self-defence training. In the last one year, we have imparted self-defence training to 14,000 women.

"There is a need to increase so that the gap in physical capacity between women and men is addressed and women can defend themselves," he said.

Read: Uber driver sent to police custody for 3 days, says ‘I made a mistake, what can I do?’

The top cop said that the government has decided to increase the number of women personnel in Delhi Police. A total of 1,250 women constables have been hired and they will be on the streets of the national capital after around eight months, he said.

"There are certain areas in the city where there is a high rate of crimes against women, especially the localities of the weaker sections of society. We have deployed women police personnel in beats so that they can directly interact with the women of such areas and talk to them about there problems," he said.