New Delhi, 31 August

A 16-year-old who boarded a bus in Greater Noida on a rained out night earlier this month was allegedly gang-raped by the conductor and driver and abandoned in Kashmere Gate, more than 40 km away, police said. The two accused have been arrested.

The crime, recalling the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder, took place on the night of August 4 but has come to light only now.

Upset after being scolded by her mother, the girl from Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh left home and got onto a bus for Noida Sector 63, where her cousin lives, police officials said.

It was raining and she mistakenly got off at Pari Chowk around 9 pm, the Class 11 student told police.

Standing in pouring rain, she realised she was still about 25 km away from her cousin's home. While she was searching for transportation, a bus approached and stopped near her.

According to police, the conductor allegedly informed her that they were headed to Noida Sector 63 and would drop her off there. Trusting his words, she boarded the bus.

The bus, however, was not operating as a regular passenger service that night. According to the travel company and investigators, it had been taken to a workshop in Surajpur, Greater Noida, for repairs after developing a technical fault.

The two accused picked up the bus from the workshop around 5 pm and began their journey around 9 pm. They travelled from Surajpur towards Pari Chowk, through the Advant area and Noida Sector 93, before proceeding towards Delhi and Kashmere Gate.

The girl was abandoned at Kashmere Gate, from where she managed to take an auto-rickshaw to the police station.

The accused, bus driver Kuldeep (39) and conductor Sandeep (26), both residents of Kanpur, were arrested from a parking lot in north Delhi's Timarpur on August 4, police said.

During her ordeal, the conductor allegedly behaved inappropriately toward the girl and sexually assaulted her, with the driver complicit in the act. The two men allegedly threatened to kill her if she resisted, police said. A subsequent medical examination of the teenager confirmed rape.

The bus travelled nearly 43 kilometres from Greater Noida to Kashmere Gate without stopping, passing through several locations monitored by CCTV cameras, police posts, and barricades. Investigators are now examining the route to ascertain how the bus went unchecked for such a long distance and to identify the exact locations at which it may have stopped before abandoning the girl.

A police officer, requesting anonymity, said the route largely comprises the Ring Road and highway, where putting up frequent barricades is difficult as it can lead to severe traffic congestion. Police, however, are deployed near the Delhi border at the Noida entry point, the officer said.

Police have collected CCTV footage from various points along the route and are retracing the movement of the bus to reconstruct the sequence of events.

According to Monu, a manager at Vishwanath Travels, the bus was undergoing renovation at the time and did not have operational CCTV cameras. He explained that the vehicle had been taken to Surajpur for repairs and was being transported to Kashmere Gate for painting.

The sleeper berths inside the bus had company-fitted curtains, which allegedly allowed the accused to conceal their activities from people outside.

During forensic examination, a team recovered strands of the girl's hair from inside the bus, police said. The vehicle was seized on the same day, and its gates have now been closed as forensic investigation is still underway.

"We don't know what happened that day, but we learned through the police afterwards. We have provided all the information we have and are cooperating with the investigation." Monu said.

According to the travel company, both Kuldeep and Sandeep had been working with Vishwanath Travels for over two years.

Police are verifying whether the two men have criminal records and are examining whether the bus owner and travel company properly vetted their backgrounds before hiring them.

"The police informed the girl's family about the incident that same night and called them to Delhi. Female police personnel remained with her, assisting until her family arrived," the officer said.

After completing the necessary formalities, police handed the girl over to her family.

The case has drawn comparisons with the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape, in which a woman was brutally sexually assaulted inside a moving bus in Delhi. The incident had triggered nationwide outrage and led to significant changes in laws and safety measures concerning public transport and crimes against women.

CCTV footage, forensic evidence and other material are being examined to establish the complete sequence of events and ascertain whether anyone else was involved.

Sources said that the police also conducted a potency test on the accused.

Further investigation is underway.