‘Firm did not do a background check before hiring Uber cab driver’

MUMBAI : In a twist to the alleged molestation case involving an expatriate woman by an Uber cab driver on August 17, the police have claimed the company had engaged

MUMBAI : In a twist to the alleged molestation case involving an expatriate woman by an Uber cab driver on August 17, the police have claimed the company had engaged Shehbaaz Shaikh, the driver, without verifying his antecedents or residential address.

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“Uber did not verify the residential address or criminal antecedents of the driver before engaging him with the company,” deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Satyanarayan Choudhary told HT. “Our investigations are on. We will initiate appropriate action for the lapses,” he said. The police have already written to the Regional Transport Office (RTO) to suspend Shaikh’s driving licence as well as the registration of the vehicle, a Swift D’Zire sedan, owned by Shaikh, Chowdhary said.

The police’s findings assume significance in the backdrop of the rape of a woman working with a finance company in Gurgaon by an Uber driver in December 2014. A Delhi court had sentenced Shiv Kumar Yadav, the driver, to life imprisonment in November 2015.

Meanwhile, Uber refuted police claims and stated the company had conducted a background check of the driver and had in their possession all his identity proof documents, which helped them catch him.

Meanwhile, Govind Saindane, regional transport officer, Tardeo, said he was still to receive the police’s letter. “But that won’t stop us from suspending the licence of the driver and registration of the vehicle,” he said. Asked if the RTO was going to act against Uber after receiving the police report, Saindane said, “I don’t want to comment on it as the matter [pertaining to permission to operate the company] is presently being contested in courts.”

Meanwhile, a source in the transport department told HT the RTO could not afford to initiate action against any app-based taxi service because they are not issued licences (or registered with) by the road transport authorities. “This is a new concept. The vehicles for hire don’t belong to the company which is an aggregator — facilitators for establishing communication between the cab drivers and passengers. In return, they earn a commission,” sources said. “We can take action against only those who have been issued badges and permits by us. Otherwise, under the Motor Vehicle Act, there is no term of reference for aggregators like Uber or Ola.”

However, the RTO can take action for any wrongdoing by drivers engaged by call-a- cab services like Meru, Easycab, Goldcab or Mega cab. “In these cases, the vehicles belong to the company that has been issued a permit for business by us,” he said.

Chowdhary also said although the SIM card was in his (driver’s) name, he had subsequently changed his address, which was not verified and updated by the service provider. Moreover, although the vehicle was meant to be a tourist vehicle (as per the RTO permit), Shaikh was plying it as a taxi in the city. “We have intimated those findings to the RTO,” he said.