Gurgaon-based executives of online ride-hailing service Uber were questioned again by Delhi Police on Tuesday. Sources said some of them may be arrested in a fresh case filed under Indian Penal Code.
The National Commission for Women has also issued a notice to Uber, while the Delhi Commission for Women has summoned the company’s Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick.
Uber has told Delhi Police that over 4,000 drivers registered with them were not verified.
Delhi Police said Uber was booked on Tuesday for allegedly misleading their passengers by claiming that they do background verification of their drivers.
“An FIR under section 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention) has been filed with Sarai Rohilla police station,” said Madhur Verma, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North).
The process of filing an FIR, number 1,300, was completed by late afternoon and an official announcement was made in the evening. Legal opinion to invoke section 406 (criminal breach of trust) is also being taken from experts.
On being asked about the reason behind the FIR, a police officer said Uber was cheating customers in India by claiming that they verify the drivers and owners of taxis before registering them on their website.
“Our investigation, however, revealed that no such verification was being done by Uber in India. This means they were circulating wrong information to people here who were using their services. This violation certainly attracts a cheating case against them,” the officer added.
On Tuesday, Uber executives were asked about the reason behind not following safety protocols in India which they implement in the US and other countries.
For instance, Uber claims on its website that they run background checks in the US, running back to seven years, on cab drivers to screen against fatal accidents, violent crimes and sexual offences.
“Uber has also been asked about the steps they implement for passenger safety in the other cities in India where they operate,” the officer said.
Uber will also have to submit all their documents under section 91 of Code of Criminal Procedure and police are verifying how many of their drivers were verified.
Uber is also under fire as taxi service providers are responsible for the quality of drivers, their police verification and behaviour. They should have ensured that Shiv was totally safe, reliable and trustworthy, the officer added.
The US-based company was banned and blacklisted from providing any transport service in the capital by the Delhi Transport Department on Monday.
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