Uber cab service banned in Delhi over rape incident

The Uber cab service company, whose driver has been arrested for raping a 27-year-old woman in New Delhi on Friday, has been banned in the national capital.

Meanwhile, the CEO of taxi company Uber on Sunday posted a message on the company's blog to condemn the incident in New Delhi where a woman was raped by the cab's driver.

In the first message, Travis Kalanick offered his company's full support to bring the perpetrator to justice, but shifted the blame on the government saying - "We will work with the government to establish clear background checks currently absent in their commercial transportation licensing programs."

The complete message by the CEO on Uber's blog:

"What happened over the weekend in New Delhi is horrific. Our entire team's hearts go out to the victim of this despicable crime. We will do everything, I repeat, everything to help bring this perpetrator to justice and to support the victim and her family in her recovery.

We will work with the government to establish clear background checks currently absent in their commercial transportation licensing programs. We will also partner closely with the groups who are leading the way on women's safety here in New Delhi and around the country and invest in technology advances to help make New Delhi a safer city for women."

In another statement posted on the blog, the company said:

"This is an abhorrent crime. Our thoughts remain with the victim who has shown tremendous courage under the circumstances.

Upon being notified of this incident, our team immediately provided the local authorities with all relevant details, including:

- driver (name, age, photo, complete driver's license details, bank verified address)

- vehicle (license, registration, insurance, state-issued driver permit)

- trip details (trip data, route, pick-up & drop-off location)

Safety is our #1 priority and in India, Uber exclusively partners with registered for-hire drivers who have undergone the commercial licensing process, hold government issued IDs, state-issued permits, and carry full commercial insurance. Uber also has a GPS trace and record of all trips that occur on the platform - information that has been shared with the authorities. We will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement officials in their investigation to bring this crime to justice.

We will also work with the community, with government and the technology industry to find more ways to promote safety in transportation, particularly for women - both here in Delhi and throughout India."