A woman passenger in Delhi has accused an Uber driver of trying to forcibly "kiss her hand" while driving her to Gurgaon.
A woman has accused a driver contracted with taxi aggregator Uber of trying to sexually harass her after she hailed his cab to go to Gurgaon from Delhi. The driver, identified as Vinod, was arrested on Tuesday.
The woman, a 21-year-old professional dancer, has alleged, "When we reached my destination, he handed over two bags and when I asked for the third, he said he wanted to shake hands with me and said 'nice to meet you ma'am'... I thought he is a good man and so I casually shook hands with him. He then kissed my hand. When I tried to pull back my hand, he held it tightly and forcibly tried to kiss me."
Sources in the Gurgaon police said the driver told Uber that he had touched the woman's hand to his forehead as a sign of gratitude.
On Sunday, the woman's brother posted a picture of Uber's response to their complaint on Facebook and urged the company to take swift action. Uber said it had suspended the driver and launched an internal investigation.
On Monday night, the police registered a case against 40-year-old Vinod, a Delhi resident, for sexual harassment and physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures.
"After investigation, the investigating officer has decided to arrest the accused Uber cab driver," the Gurgaon Police said today.
Uber was banned in New Delhi in December after a woman passenger accused one of its drivers of rape. The company resumed its services in January after applying for a radio taxi licence, which it still awaits.
Authorities in New Delhi have maintained that Uber is banned in the capital and is operating without permission. However, the transport ministry said in April that such companies should be better regulated but are not banned.
Uber, which offers taxi services using its mobile application, claims it has launched new safety features including stricter background screening of its drivers and an in-app SOS button that connects to the police.