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  • Uber Shiv Kumar Yadav
    Delhi Police takes Shiv Kumar Yadav, the accused driver who allegedly raped a woman to produce him before a court in New Delhi, on Dec 8, 2014.IANS
  • Uber Cabs
    Uber [Representational Image]Reuters
  • Uber
    Members of All India Mahila Congress, women's wing of Congress party, shout slogans and carry placards during a protest against the rape of a female passenger, in New Delhi December 8, 2014.Reuters File

The Telangana government has banned Uber cab services in the state as questions over the radio cab provider's safety regulations were raised following reports of the arrested Delhi driver of the company being a repeat sex offender.

Following the Delhi government's footsteps, the Telangana government released a statement saying Uber taxis were banned as the company was plying in the state without any permission and appealed to the citizens to avoid booking cabs from the company.

"In these circumstances, the public including the taxi, cab owners/drivers are informed not to be associated with Uber Company in any form. No permission has been granted to Uber Company by Transport Department of Telangana government," the statement read.

"Public are requested not to hire any transport services through Uber company in any form, including web-based mobile applications keeping in view the safety and security," said the release.

Interrogation of the arrested taxi driver revealed that he was a serial offender and that the company was negligent about checking his criminal records.

The Uber cab driver from Delhi, Shiv Kumar Yadav, was earlier arrested for rape charges in 2011 and 2013 as well. While he claimed he was acquitted in the 2011 rape case after spending seven months in Tihar jail, he was reportedly released on bail in the 2013 case, according to The Times of India report.

In 2011, he was arrested for raping a bar dancer and a case was registered against him in a police station in Delhi's Mehrauli area, while another customer from UP's Mainpuri area pressed rape charges against Yadav in 2013.

Uber not only ignored his criminal background but also neglected a complaint against him. The service provider received a complaint from one of the customers last month.

US-based Nidhi Shah, who was in India last month, hired an Uber cab on 26 November and the driver Yadav allegedly kept staring at her through the rear view mirror and also smiled at her in a weird way, according to a TOI report.

"I took a cab with Shiv Kumar Yadav in Delhi on Nov 26th. Scares me beyond belief," she mentioned in a tweet. "I had reported Shiv Kumar Yadav to @Uber on Nov 26th. They said via email they would check on him. Not soon enough," she added.

Yadav is at present in police custody for allegedly raping a woman finance executive on Friday night. The woman filed a complaint against Yadav, who allegedly abducted, raped and then dropped her back home on the night of 5 December.

This incident took place after the woman took the cab from Delhi's Vasant Vihar area at around 10 pm.