43km, multiple CCTV points, zero stops: Security gaps exposed in Delhi-NCR bus gang rape case
NEW DELHI: A 16-year-old girl who boarded a sleeper bus in Greater Noida on a rainy night, believing it would take her to her cousin’s home in Noida, was allegedly gang-raped by its driver and conductor before being abandoned more than 40km away near Kashmere Gate, police said.The two accused have been arrested. The August 4 crime has drawn comparisons with the 2012 Nirbhaya case as the girl was allegedly assaulted inside a moving bus by its driver and conductor.The Class 11 student from Mainpuri had left home after being scolded by her mother and was travelling to Noida Sector 63, where her cousin lives, police said.She mistakenly got off at Pari Chowk in Greater Noida around 9pm amid heavy rain. Realising that she was still around 25km from her destination, she began looking for transport when a bus stopped nearby.According to police, the conductor told her that the bus was headed towards Sector 63 and would drop her there. The girl trusted him and boarded, news agency PTI reported.The bus, however, was not operating a regular passenger service that night. Investigators and the travel company said it had been taken to a workshop in Surajpur, Greater Noida, for repairs after developing a technical fault.The driver and conductor had picked up the bus from the workshop around 5pm and resumed their journey around 9pm.
Bus travelled 43km before girl was abandoned
After picking up the girl near Pari Chowk, the bus proceeded towards Delhi instead of Sector 63, police said.During the journey to Kashmere Gate, the girl alleged that the conductor made inappropriate advances towards her before he and the driver sexually assaulted her.Police said the two men allegedly threatened to kill her when she resisted.The bus travelled around 43km without stopping before the girl was abandoned near Kashmere Gate, police said. She then took an auto-rickshaw to the police station.DCP (North) Niharika Bhatt said Delhi Police registered the FIR without getting into jurisdictional issues after the girl approached Kashmere Gate police station.“On the night of August 4, the victim came to the Kashmere Gate police station and told police that she had been raped on a moving bus in Noida.“On being questioned, it was revealed that the girl was travelling from Mainpuri to Sector 63, Noida, to stay at a relative’s house.”The girl alleged that the assault took place while the bus was travelling from Pari Chowk towards Sector 63. The driver and conductor later took the bus towards Ring Road and abandoned her within the jurisdiction of Kashmere Gate police station.“Police got the victim medically examined, which confirmed rape, and registered a case without getting into jurisdictional issues,” the DCP said.The girl was produced before the Child Welfare Committee and later handed over to her father following its directions.
CCTV trail leads cops to accused
Police said CCTV footage helped them trace the bus within hours. Driver Kuldeep, 39, and conductor Sandeep, 26, both residents of Kanpur, were arrested from a parking lot in north Delhi’s Timarpur.The bus was seized and the accused underwent potency tests, officials said.Investigators are now retracing the bus’s route to determine how it travelled such a long distance through areas with CCTV cameras, police posts and barricades without being stopped.A police officer, requesting anonymity, said the route largely consisted of the Ring Road and highways where frequent barricading is difficult because of heavy traffic.However, the officer said police were deployed at the Noida-Delhi border points.Police have collected CCTV footage from several locations and are reconstructing the bus’s movements to establish the sequence of events and determine whether it stopped anywhere before the girl was abandoned.
Bus was under repair, CCTV not operational
Monu, manager at Vishwanath Travels, said the bus was undergoing renovation when the incident took place and its CCTV cameras were not operational.He said the vehicle had been taken to Surajpur for repairs before it was being moved towards Kashmere Gate for painting.The sleeper berths inside the bus were fitted with company-provided curtains, which police said allegedly helped the accused conceal their activities from people outside.Forensic examination of the bus found strands of the girl’s hair inside the vehicle, police said. Further forensic examination is underway.“We didn’t know what happened that day… We learned through police afterwards. We have provided all the information we have and are cooperating with the investigation,” Monu said.According to the travel company, Kuldeep and Sandeep had been working with Vishwanath Travels for more than two years.Police are verifying whether the two men have any criminal records and examining whether the bus owner or travel company properly vetted their backgrounds before hiring them.“Police informed the girl’s family about the incident the same night and called them to Delhi. She was handed over to the family after completing the necessary formalities,” an officer said.
How the case echoes the Nirbhaya crime
The incident has revived memories of the 2012 Nirbhaya case, in which a 22-year-old physiotherapy intern and her male friend had boarded an off-duty private bus after watching a movie.The woman was tortured and gang-raped inside the bus by six men, including the driver, who also assaulted her male friend before throwing both from the moving vehicle.The 2012 crime triggered nationwide protests and led to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, which significantly changed India’s legal framework governing sexual offences.(With agency inputs)(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
