New Delhi : Hundreds of protesters, including women, Monday staged a noisy demonstration at various places in the national capital over inaction against global cab company Uber after one of its drivers was arrested for raping a 25-year-old woman.
Holding banners and placards, hundreds of Aam Aadmi Party activists demonstrated outside Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s 38, Ashoka Road residence.
Holding Indian flags, the protesters waved banners with messages like “Shame! My government allows rape”. Police later detained them.
Later, Congress supporters also demonstrated outside the home minister’s residence. They demanded security to women in Delhi and also raised slogans against the minister.
Over 50 AAP protesters held another protest outside Delhi Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung’s residence in north Delhi, while nearly 35 activists of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) held a noisy demonstration outside the Delhi Police headquarters.
Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Brinda Karat said: “We met the Delhi Police commissioner (B.S. Bassi) and presented him with 12 points regarding women’s safety.
“We also demanded an FIR against the taxi company Uber and immediate action and cancellation of registration of the company,” Karat told IANS.
The Delhi government later announced a ban on “all activities” by Uber taxi company in the national capital.
The city government’s transport department also blacklisted the taxi company from providing any transport service in the capital in future, an official statement said.
Leading the protesters, AAP leader Atishi Marlena said: “We want to ask the minister (Rajnath Singh) what steps he is taking for the security of women in Delhi.”
“After all, someone has to be held accountable and someone has to ensure that there is law and order,” Marlena told IANS.
The AAP members gathered outside the home minister’s residence around 7.50 a.m. and raised slogans against the government and Delhi Police for not taking proper action against the cab company.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Vijay Singh told IANS: “At least 100 protesters have been detained for protesting outside the home minister’s residence and have been taken to a police station.”
Delhi Police Sunday arrested 32-year-old Shiv Kumar Yadav for raping the 25-year-old working woman in Delhi Friday night.
The incident took place when the woman hired the Uber taxi from Vasant Vihar in south Delhi to go home Friday night. She was on her way back from Gurgaon in Haryana where she works with a private company.
She told police that she fell asleep on the back seat of the taxi, before realising that it had stopped at a secluded spot and the driver was trying to molest her.
When she resisted, the driver slapped and threatened to kill her, and later raped her.