Uber rape case: now another Indian city bans Uber, declares it ‘illegal’

Two days after India’s capital, New Delhi, banned Uber, another city’s government has taken action to outlaw the app-connected cab service.

This morning, authorities in Hyderabad declared Uber unlicensed and therefore “illegal.” T Raghunath, the joint transport commissioner of Hyderabad, told The Times of India:

Uber has not obtained permission from the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) to operate or facilitate taxi or cab service in the city. So, if such transport services are being provided or facilitated by Uber in city, they are illegal.

The official added:

We do not know anything about Uber’s operations. We are also unaware of how many such operators are providing services in Hyderabad. We are now gathering information

Uber is under intense scrutiny in India after the alleged rape of a female Uber passenger by her driver in Delhi last weekend. That news emerged on Monday, leading authorities to ban the US-based company from the capital. A day later, the city’s transport department also banned six other cab companies.

The rape victim, a 27-year-old woman, was allegedly attacked by Uber driver Shiv Kumar Yadav, an apparently serial rapist acquitted of a crime in 2011. The acquittal has reignited anger about the inadequate police and judicial response to the capital’s serious sexual assault problems. Delhi became notorious around the world in 2012 after a gang rape on a public bus that left a young woman dead from her injuries.

The tragic case has also highlighted how Uber is operating under the radar in India, allegedly without formal licensing and without using police background checks on its drivers.

Hyderabad’s transport commissioner made no mention of the Delhi rape case in connection with the city’s ban on Uber.

Uber appeared to be still running in Delhi yesterday, shortly after the ban. But sources in Delhi this morning confirmed to Tech in Asia that no Uber cars are available in the capital at present.

See: I fell for Uber’s safe image and now I feel victimized