HYDERABAD: Even as citizens are apprehensive of availing themselves of the cab services in the light of the woman executive rape incident in Delhi, the city police maintain that the cabs are as safe as any other private vehicles.
Since May 2014, there has been a mechanism in place where every cab in Cyberabad is registered with the police, who are provided stickers.
City police officials observed hat it’s not possible for police to conduct screenings of every individual. “The conduct of the drivers is solely the responsibility of the owner of the vehicle. The police cannot conduct background checks of each and every driver as the process is endless. However, we are ready to help any private service to provide information on certain individuals,” Anjani Kumar, Additional Commissioner of Police (law & order), remarked.
“We have made registration of cab vehicles in Cyberabad compulsory and every cab that operates here must register the details of the owner and driver with us, following which we give them a sticker that the cab is registered with police,” said Avinash Mohanty, DCP Traffic, Cyberabad.
So far, 13,000 cabs have been registered in Cyberabad area and 5,000 of them have been registered with the police. However, even though the vehicles were registered, cops are unaware of the identity of the drivers.
“We have a system of registration of the vehicles, but we do not conduct any screening or background checks on the driver. Sometimes, the drivers of the cabs might change, so this system also needs to be updated,” Mohanty admitted.