Uber Driver Accused Of Rape In New Delhi Convicted By Indian Court

An Indian court on Tuesday convicted Shiv Kumar Yadav, a driver with Uber Technologies cab-hailing network, of raping a 25-year-old woman in his taxi in the capital city of New Delhi last year, according to several local media reports.

In her complaint, the woman alleged she was raped by 32 year-old Yadav on the night of Dec. 5, 2014, in his cab, which she hailed to return home in Inderlok area of northern New Delhi. The court has also convicted Yadav of "endangering a woman's life while raping her, abducting and criminally intimidating her." It will hear arguments on sentencing Friday, The Hindu reported.

The complaint had led to authorities banning ride-hailing services in India, a market that Uber considers one of its fastest growing and biggest outside the U.S. India has since released a comprehensive set of guidelines that could eventually form the basis for properly regulating the ride-hailing service without hampering its growth in a market where demand for the service significantly outstrips supply.

Yadav was arrested Dec. 7 in the Mathura locality of the Indian capital and is currently in judicial custody. While the prosecutors argued that the evidence of 28 witnesses in the case corroborated the victim's complaint, Yadav's defense attorney argued that the driver had been implicated with false evidence, the Times of India reported.