A Delhi court on Thursday remanded the driver of US-based cab service provider Uber, arrested for allegedly raping a 27-year-old woman executive here, in judicial custody till December 24, amid a ruckus by striking lawyers.
Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey sent Shiv Kumar Yadav to Tihar Jail after the investigating officer (IO) said that his custodial interrogation was not necessary as a mobile phone and clothes, which the accused was wearing at the time of the incident, have been recovered.
The officer submitted that the investigation in the case was still on. The legal aid counsel, appearing for the accused, however, said that the investigation was complete and Yadav be sent to judicial custody. The court after hearing the submissions said, “Considering the facts of the case, nature and seriousness of allegations and considering that the investigation is at a crucial stage, the accused be remanded in judicial custody till December 24”.
The moment Yadav was produced in the court, lawyers, who were sitting on a strike for the third consecutive day, created ruckus in the courtroom and opposed the counsel appearing for him. After hearing the submissions of the police and the legal aid counsel, the magistrate asked Yadav if he wants to say anything to which the accused said “no”.
Earlier, the court asked several questions from the IO, including if the statement of the victim has been recorded before a magistrate and whether the accused has undergone Test Identification Parade (TIP) process. To this, the IO replied that the testimony of the victim under the provisions of CrPC has already been recorded and during the last hearing, Yadav had refused to undergo TIP, a process under the criminal law through which a victim identifies an accused.