Uber banned in Delhi over taxi driver 'rape'

Authorities in the Indian capital, Delhi, have banned international taxi-booking service Uber after a driver allegedly raped a female passenger.

A transport department official said the company had been "blacklisted" for "misleading customers".

The 26-year-old woman used the smartphone app to book a taxi home on Friday but says she was taken to a secluded area and raped. The driver has been remanded in custody for three days.

He was arrested on Sunday and appeared in court on Monday afternoon.

Some who had gathered outside the court tried to attack him as he was brought out, but police rushed him to a waiting van and took him away. Police say they will charge him with raping the finance company employee on Friday night when she used the taxi to take her home from a restaurant. 

Uber, which is growing in popularity in India, has been accused of failing to conduct adequate checks on its drivers.

"(The) Transport Department has banned all activities relating to providing any transport service by the www.Uber.com with immediate effect," news agency AFP reported, quoting from a government statement.
The ban means any Uber taxi in Delhi will now attract a fine or even be impounded, officials say.
The company is still accepting bookings on its app and it is not yet clear how the ban will be enforced since Uber taxis do not carry any visible branding.
Before the ban was announced, Uber described the incident as "horrific" and said it would do everything "to help bring this perpetrator to justice".
"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," Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said in a statement.
He said Uber would "work with the government to establish clear background checks currently absent in their commercial transportation licensing programs".