America
Delhi rape victim's US lawyer blasts Uber audacity
The American lawyer of a
Delhi woman who was allegedly raped by a driver of web-based US taxi
firm Uber has expressed surprise at the "audacity" of the company's
reported re-entry into the Delhi market.
In a statement emailed
to IANS, lawyer Douglas H. Wigdor said they had made it clear to Uber
that the rape victim wanted to be part of a consultation process
regarding safety procedures to ensure that no other person becomes a
victim at the hands of an Uber driver.
"Most unfortunately, this
has not happened and we have no confidence that the touted
'India-specific safety measures' will prevent another attack," he wrote.
The
lawyer had represented Nafissatou Diallo, the hotel maid who accused
IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn of rape and sexual assault.
Here is the statement from the lawyer:
"According
to a news report and an email that they had the audacity to send
directly to my client, Uber has announced, just weeks after the tragic
rape of my client and during the criminal trial of the Uber driver, that
it has re-entered the market in Delhi," he noted.
"While we have
no doubt that Uber is focused on it's bottom-line, we are surprised by
this development as we had made it clear to Uber that the rape victim
wanted to be part of a consultation process regarding safety procedures
to ensure that no other person becomes a victim at the hands of an Uber
driver.
"Most unfortunately, this has not happened and we have no
confidence that the touted 'India-specific safety measures" will
prevent another attack."
In a statement on resumption of its
services in Delhi, Uber said it had applied for a radio taxi licence and
would improve safety by introducing features such as an "in-app
emergency button".
The accused driver Shiv Kumar Yadav is currently on trial on rape and kidnapping charges.
Delhi banned Uber and several other web-based taxi firms for failing to carry out adequate driver checks in early December.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])