Delhi police hold Uber driver for 'harassment'

India is one of dozens of countries where Uber is popular

Police in India say they have arrested a driver of the web-based taxi firm Uber for allegedly molesting a female passenger.

The 21-year-old woman alleges the driver kissed her hand and "forcibly pulled me towards him" near Delhi.

The arrest comes months after another Uber driver allegedly raped a passenger in Delhi. He denies the charge.

Uber, which enables customers to book taxis online, said it had suspended the driver after the latest complaint.

"Uber has a zero-tolerance policy towards inappropriate behaviour and immediate action has already been taken with the driver partner even while the matter is being thoroughly investigated," the company said in a statement.

The woman told The Hindu newspaper that the incident happened on Sunday while she was being dropped outside her friend's residence in Gurgaon, south of the capital.

"The driver said that he was happy to have met me and offered to shake my hand at the end of the trip before kissing it and forcibly pulling me towards him."

She said she had not complained to the police immediately after the incident and deliberated over it for two days because she lacked faith "in the system".

Gurgaon police chief Navdeep Singh Virk told the AFP news agency that the driver, a 40-year-old resident of Delhi, had been arrested on Tuesday on charges of sexual harassment.

In December, a 26-year-old woman alleged that an Uber driver had driven her to a secluded area of Delhi and raped her.

The driver is currently on trial on rape and kidnapping charges.

Following the incident, authorities accused Uber of failing to conduct adequate background checks on drivers and banned the service in Delhi for a number of weeks.

Uber claims that it has tightened the ways it carries out background checks on drivers and improved safety measures.