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Indian Uber driver accused of rape held

A Uber driver has been arrested in India, accused of threatening and raping a 26-year-old passenger.

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Protestors from All India Students Association (AISA) demonstrate outside the Delhi Police headquarters after a taxi driver from the international cab-booking service Uber allegedly raped a young woman Friday in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2014. (AAP)

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Indian police have arrested a driver from the international taxi-booking service Uber for allegedly raping a young woman in the capital.

Shiv Kumar Yadav, 32, was arrested in his hometown of Mathura, about 160km south of New Delhi, where the rape allegedly took place on Friday night, police officer Jag Niwas said.

The woman, who works at a finance company, was returning from a dinner engagement and used the mobile app Uber to hire a cab to drive her home.

The Press Trust of India reported that the 26-year-old woman fell asleep during the ride.

When she woke up, she found the car parked in a secluded place, and the driver then threatened her and raped her, PTI said.

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Police have filed a case against Yadav accusing him of raping the woman, and he is due to appear in a New Delhi court on Monday, Niwas said.

Uber said in a statement on Saturday that it had suspended the driver's account and was co-operating with authorities.

"We are working with the police as they investigate, and will assist them in any way we can to determine what happened," the statement said.

Meanwhile, dozens of students scuffled with officers on Sunday as they tried to enter police headquarters in New Delhi to protest the rising incidents of rape in the capital.

Indian officials, who for decades did little about sexual violence, have faced growing public anger since the December 2012 fatal gang rape of a young woman on a moving New Delhi bus, an attack that sparked national outrage.

The nationwide outcry led the federal government to rush through legislation doubling prison terms for rapists to 20 years and criminalising voyeurism, stalking and the trafficking of women.

The law also makes it a crime for officers to refuse to open cases when complaints are made.


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