NEW DELHI: After a cab driver allegedly raped and killed a 10-year-old girl in south Delhi’s Mehrauli area, police plan to reach out to district magistrates, Delhi govt and cab aggregators to address safety concerns of homeless people and to review policies for screening cab drivers.Police are likely to write to Delhi govt urging that policies on cab aggregators be made stricter, including stronger scrutiny and verification for onboarding drivers so that individuals with criminal backgrounds or suspicious records are not allowed to register and operate as cabbies.This is under consideration,” an officer said.Investigators have also identified the cab aggregator platform the accused, 29-yearold Basu Kumar Singh, was linked to at the time of the crime. Police will formally write to the company seeking details of all passengers ferried by him in recent days, including the one who booked his cab after the crime, to ascertain his conduct with other passengers.Police sources said a letter will be sent to the South Delhi DM regarding homeless families in the area where the girl was abducted. Police will urge the administration to build shelter homes so that vulnerable people can be shifted to safer spaces.Sources added that those living on the streets will also be informed about govt facilities where they can access food and shelter.“We will also ask the authorities to counsel such people and enroll them in the organised sector so they can find work and secure shelter. The focus will be on women and children, who remain the most vulnerable,” a police source said.During the investigation, police found that the accused was allegedly involved in five criminal cases in his native state, including two cases of attempted murder, raising serious questions over the background verification process followed by the companies.Sources said Singh had been working as a cab driver in the Delhi-NCR region for nearly 5 years and had been associated with multiple aggregators during this period. Investigators are now trying to ascertain how he was able to continue operating despite his criminal antecedents.Police will seek details from the aggregators regarding the process through which Singh was enrolled as a driver. They will also ask for all the documents submitted by him.Apart from this, cops will seek information on whether any complaints had ever been filed against Singh by passengers or the platforms.
