Uber rape case: Victim says driver had forced upon her

New Delhi: The woman executive, who was allegedly raped by the driver of the US-based cab service provider Uber, told a city court on Saturday that the accused had forced upon her and it was not a "consensual" act.

Standing firm on her stand during her cross-examination, which concluded today, the woman, who appeared in the court wearing a black burqa, remained calm, stood firm on her stand and deposed confidently before Additional Sessions Judge Kaveri Baweja.

Court sources said that the 25-year-old victim, whose statement was recorded in an in-camera proceeding, was cross-examined for over four hours, spanning two consecutive days, by the counsel for accused Shiv Kumar Yadav.

The sources said the victim denied the suggestion of the defence counsel that the whole act was "consensual" and told the court that Yadav had forced her and she was not able to open the door of the car.

She stuck to her version on the lines she had earlier deposed during her examination by special public prosecutor Atul Shrivastava.

The court, after concluding the recording of her statement, fixed the matter for January 19 when statements of five witnesses, including three medical officers, are likely to be recorded.

Earlier during her cross-examination, the woman had said that on the night of the alleged incident on December 5, 2014, she had raised an alarm but could not save herself as Yadav had overpowered and raped her.

Yadav, 32, was also present inside the courtroom during the intense cross-examination of the victim and after the recording of statement, he complained to the court that he was being threatened in the prison van while being brought for the proceedings.

The court directed the Delhi Police and Tihar Jail authorities to provide security and separate enclosure to Yadav in the prison van.

Yadav was earlier identified in the court by the woman as the one who had raped her on the night of December 5, 2014 when she had hired the cab and was returning to her home in west Delhi's Inderlok area. 

The court had on January 13 ordered that the trial will proceed on a daily basis.

The court had framed charges against Yadav under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for alleged offences of endangering a woman's life while raping her, kidnapping her with an intent to compel her for marriage, criminally intimidating and causing hurt.

The police had filed the charge sheet 19 days after the incident when the victim, who was working for a finance company in Gurgaon, was headed back home.

Earlier, Yadav had created a drama in the court alleging that he would not sign the charge order sheet as arguments on framing of charges were not advanced in his presence.

Later, after being assured by the judge that nothing wrong was being done to him and legal procedures were being followed by the court, he had agreed and gave it in writing that he was signing the order on charge at his own will.

Yadav had refused to undergo test identification parade (TIP), saying the woman had already seen his photograph in Uber's website and she would definitely identify him. TIP is a process under the criminal law through which a victim of a crime identifies an accused.

Yadav was arrested on December 7 last year from Mathura in a joint operation by Delhi and Uttar Pradesh police.

Police had told the court that Yadav was hired by Uber, and claimed that the firm had not verified his particulars. Police has lodged a case of cheating against the firm.