A taxi driver accused of raping a 27-year-old woman executive here on Friday night was arrested on Sunday from Mathura even as the US-based cab firm Uber with whom he worked was directed by Delhi police to join its probe.

In a swift operation, 32-year-old Shiv Kumar Yadav was apprehended from Mathura, his home town, by a team of Delhi Police with the help of their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh.

“The accused (Yadav) has been arrested from Mathura with the help of Uttar Pradesh police. He is being brought to Delhi,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Madhur Verma. The accused will be produced in court here on Monday.

The police said that during investigations prime facie it has emerged that criminal negligence was made out on the part of Uber as a number of alleged shortcomings were found on their part as neither the driver was verified nor there was a GPS tracking device in the car.

Yadav, who was driving the Uber cab, allegedly raped the woman at around 9:30 pm on Friday when the victim, who works for a finance company in Gurgaon, was headed back to her home in north Delhi’s Inderlok area.

DIG (Agra Range) Lakshmi Singh said the cab in which the crime took place was owned by Yadav and he was traced through his mobile number and has been handed over to the Delhi police.

As a massive search operation involving 12 Delhi police teams was on in Mathura and other parts of Uttar Pradesh to nab the accused, the Delhi Police had earlier in the day announced a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh for his arrest.

According to the Police, Yadav was residing in a rented accommodation in Chandarpuri locality in Mathura and when the police team reached at his residence, he was not found there.

In the evening, the joint team headed by ASP Ajay Pal of Uttar Pradesh Police apprehended the accused from a house at Meer Magan Highway in Mathura which was at a distance of about one km from his rented accommodation.

The police also said that identity of the owner of the house from where Yadav was arrested was yet to be ascertained.

It said Yadav originally hails from Elau police station area of Mainpuri district in Uttar Pradesh.

“The vehicle has been found and is being brought to Delhi and FSL examination by forensic experts will be done here,” said Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat.

The police have issued a notice to Uber under section 161 CrPC to join investigation in the case.

“We have issued them a notice to join investigation. There are norms to operate such cab service set by the Transport Department and we will see whether they were followed or not,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Madhur Verma.

The shocking incident, which took place days ahead of the second anniversary of the December 16 gangrape, brought back memories of the horrific crime as shock and anger erupted both online and offline, as questions were again raised on safety of women in the Capital.

Uber issued a statement, saying that it was providing all help to the police in the investigation.

“Our thoughts are with the victim of this terrible crime and we are working with the police as they investigate. We will assist them in any way we can. It is also our policy to immediately suspend a driver’s account following allegations of a serious incident, which we have done,” it said.

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