File photo: Shiv Kumar Yadav at a Delhi court
A woman allegedly raped in an Uber taxi in Delhi "confidently" gave evidence today against the driver at the start of his trial in a fast-track court, the prosecutor said.
Shiv Kumar Yadav, 32, has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape, kidnap and criminal intimidation after he allegedly attacked his female passenger as she returned home from dinner with friends in December.
"She (the alleged victim) gave her statement confidently. She saw the man and immediately said: 'He is the person'," public prosecutor Atul Shrivastava told reporters.
Uber was banned from operating in Delhi after the attack, with authorities accusing the web-based firm of failing to perform adequate background checks on its drivers.
Yadav's trial is starting less than six weeks after the assault, and in a special court that was set up two years ago in the wake of a fatal gang-rape of a physiotherapy student.
The horrific attack on a moving bus in Delhi triggered mass protests and outrage over violence against women in India.
The Uber case was adjourned until Friday when the woman is expected to be cross-examined by Yadav's lawyers.