Uber driver guilty of rape

An Indian court has found an Uber driver guilty of raping a female passenger in his taxi in the Indian capital last year, a court official said.

Shiv Kumar Yadav was also convicted of criminal intimidation, kidnapping, and endangering the woman’s life, public prosecutor Atul Srivastava told reporters.

“Maximum punishment for the crimes is life imprisonment and we will be pushing for that,” he said.

The rape of the 26-year-old woman in December last year prompted widespread protests in India against sexual violence and led to demands for more effort to ensure women’s safety.

The woman later filed a lawsuit against Uber in a US court seeking unspecified damages while accusing the company of failing to properly investigate Yadav’s background. The lawsuit was later settled out of court.

New Delhi police official Brijendra Kumar Yadav said yesterday that police are investigating whether Uber misrepresented the safety of its service and was criminally negligent.

The case dealt a blow to Uber, which has attracted global popularity and controversy with a service that lets passengers summon cars through an app in more than 250 cities.

Yadav’s sentencing is expected on Friday.