Uber CEO Promises Change In India After Alleged Rape Gets The Service Banned In The Capital

Maya Kosoff

Dec 8, 2014, 20:03 IST

Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Travis Kalanick, chief executive officer of Uber Technologies Inc., speaks during the Institute of Directors (IOD) annual convention at the Royal Albert Hall in London, U.K., on Friday, Oct. 3, 2014.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has responded to allegations that a 26-year-old woman in India was reportedly sexually assaulted by her Uber driver on Friday night.

In an Uber blog post, Kalanick said:

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.

The woman says her driver sexually assaulted and beat her before warning her not to contact authorities. Uber gave police information about his license, address, vehicle, and details about the woman's trip.

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The 32-year-old driver, Shiv Kumar Yadav, was arrested Sunday morning at home, 100 miles from Delhi. He is scheduled to appear in court today, AFP reports.

Yadav was previously arrested for sexual assault and was acquitted, but he was still allowed to drive for Uber.

Kalanick, according to The Deccan Chronicle, has said India's systems don't have a process "to establish clear background checks."

Delhi's government said in a statement that the "Transport Department has banned all activities relating to providing any transport service by the www.Uber.com with immediate effect." According to the AFP, Delhi's city government has banned Uber in the wake of this weekend's rape allegation.

"(The) Transport Department has banned all activities relating to providing any transport service by the www.Uber.com with immediate effect," the government said in a statement.

Uber, which just raised $1.2 billion at a $41 billion valuation, launched in India in 2013. Uber's primary competition in India is Ola Cabs, which operates in 19 cities and has raised about $277 million.