India police today arrested a 32-year-old Uber driver in the rape of a New Delhi woman who used the taxi service on Friday, and they're threatening legal action against Uber itself, reports Reuters, saying that the company failed to adequately screen the driver or install a GPS location device in his car. "Every violation by Uber will be evaluated and we will go for legal recourse," says a New Delhi police rep. A Uber spokeswoman says in a statement that the account of the driver in question, Shiv Kumar Yadav, has been suspended and that "we will assist (police) in any way we can ."
The victim, variously reported as being 26 or 27 years old, caught a ride with Uber on her way home from a dinner engagement; the Hindu reports that she fell asleep on the ride, and awoke to find the vehicle parked in a remote area. She says the driver threatened her, then raped her; when he dropped her at home, Reuters notes that she was able to write down his driver number and photograph the car. Meanwhile, the AP notes that dozens of student protesters clashed with New Delhi police today. "I am here to protest the irregularities and failure of the state machinery, which refuses to acknowledge that rapes happen due to their failure," says one protester. Yadav was arrested in his hometown, 100 miles from New Delhi, and is being brought back to the capital. He's due in court tomorrow. ( Uber hasn't been getting great press lately.)