New Delhi: A 16-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped by a driver and conductor inside a moving sleeper bus before being abandoned near Kashmere Gate in Old Delhi on the night of August 4. Both accused have been arrested.
The survivor, a Class XI student from Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh, had left home following an argument with her mother and was travelling to her cousin’s home in Noida Sector 63. Stranded in pouring rain at Pari Chowk in Greater Noida around 9 pm, she was offered a lift by the bus staff under the false pretense of dropping her at her destination.
The bus, which was taken off regular service and picked up from a Surajpur workshop for repairs, travelled nearly 43 km to Kashmere Gate. The survivor stated in her complaint that conductor Sandeep, 26, made inappropriate advances shortly after she boarded, after which he and driver Kuldeep, 39, sexually assaulted her while threatening to kill her if she resisted.
After being dumped near Kashmere Gate, the girl managed to reach a local police station via auto-rickshaw. Delhi Police used CCTV footage to trace the vehicle within hours, arresting both accused— residents of Kanpur—from a parking lot in Timarpur.
During forensic examination, strands of the girl’s hair were found inside the bus, police said. Further forensic examination of the bus is underway, said the police. “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.
