India bans Uber taxi service in Delhi after rape allegation

This AP file photo shows women participating in a protest in New Delhi on Tuesday condemning the gang-rape of a 23-year-old student on a city bus.

Authorities in the Indian capital, Delhi, have banned international taxi-booking service Uber after a driver allegedly raped a female passenger.

A transport department official said the company had been "blacklisted" for "misleading customers".

The 26-year-old woman used the smartphone application to take a taxi home on Friday but says she was taken to a secluded area and raped.

The driver, who was arrested on Sunday, has appeared in court.

He is expected to be charged with raping the finance company employee on Friday night when she hired him to drive her home from a dinner.

Uber, which is growing in popularity in India, has been accused of failing to conduct adequate checks on its drivers.

"(The) Transport Department has banned all activities relating to providing any transport service by the www.Uber.com with immediate effect," news agency AFP reported, quoting from a government statement.

The ban means any Uber taxi in Delhi will now attract a fine or even be impounded, officials say.

Before the ban was announced, Uber described the incident as "horrific" and said it would do everything "to help bring this perpetrator to justice and to support the victim and her family in her recovery".