An empty bus, rain & 47 km detour: How a UP teen’s search for a ride ended in gangrape

Both driver and conductor have been arrested. CCTV footage and technical surveillance helped cops to trace the bus to Timarpur depot.

The sleeper bus in which the 16-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped | PTI

New Delhi: On the evening of 4 August, a 17-year-old girl stepped out of her residence in Uttar Pradesh’s Mainpuri to meet her cousin in Greater Noida. Braving rains, she boarded a bus alone, only to be gangraped and dumped in a road near Delhi’s Kashmere Gate, the Delhi Police said.

Even in her distress, the teenager somehow managed to stop an auto that took her to the Kashmere Gate police station on that night, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Niharika Bhatt told ThePrint. “The girl accused the (bus) driver and the conductor of gang raping her,” the DCP said.

The accused, identified as Kuldeep and Sandeep, were arrested, the police said, adding that they were booked for wrongful confinement, kidnapping, gang rape under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

According to the complainant, she had left her residence in Mainpuri and boarded a bus for Greater Noida, when she mistakenly got off at Pari Chowk.

“It was pouring that night and a sleeper bus was passing by so she signalled it to stop,” the DCP said. “The conductor asked her where she wanted to go and said the bus was going to Noida Sector 63.”

Subsequently on boarding the bus, the teenager realised that she was the sole traveler.

“The conductor immediately began to make indecent gestures and remarks at her. The conductor and driver then took turns to rape her. When she resisted, they threatened to kill her,” the DCP added.

With curtains drawn and on deserted streets, the complainant alleged that her cry for help went unnoticed. “The accused dumped her near Kashmere Gate Ring Road in Delhi,” the DCP said, adding that the bus travelled 47 km from Pari Chowk to Kashmere Gate.

Following the complaint and medico legal tests of the minor, the Delhi Police sent out several teams to nab the accused. “We tracked CCTV camera footage and using technical surveillance traced the bus to Timarpur depot,” the officer added.

The bus had earlier broken down and was taken to a workshop in Surajpur for repairs. “After the repairs were completed, the driver and conductor were taking the empty bus to Timarpur when they encountered the teenager at Pari Chowk,” the officer said.

(Edited by Tony Rai)