Teen allegedly raped in bus that travelled 47 km across Delhi without police check
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New Delhi: A teenage girl was allegedly raped inside a sleeper bus that travelled nearly 47 km from Greater Noida to Delhi’s Kashmere Gate without being stopped at a police checkpoint, raising fresh concerns over the enforcement of safety norms for passenger buses.
Police have arrested the bus driver, identified as Kuldeep, and conductor Sandeep in connection with the August 4 incident. The two were taken into custody after the vehicle reached a parking facility in Timarpur, north Delhi.
According to police sources, the driver and conductor had taken the bus to a workshop in Surajpur, Greater Noida, before heading towards Timarpur. They allegedly spotted the girl standing alone near Pari Chowk and stopped the bus after she signalled to them.
The bus travelled on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway and passed major entry and exit points between Noida and Delhi.
The men are accused of persuading the girl to board the vehicle and assaulting her while the bus was on its way to Delhi. The girl was allegedly left near Kashmere Gate before the accused drove the bus to Timarpur, where they were arrested.
The bus is reported to have passed through major roads and entry points, including stretches of the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway and Delhi’s Ring Road, as well as areas near the Chilla border, Mayur Vihar and Geeta Colony. However, it was reportedly not subjected to checking at any point during the journey.
Police sources said regular barricading and vehicle searches on certain parts of the expressway and Ring Road could severely disrupt traffic. The incident, however, has prompted questions over whether passenger vehicles can evade scrutiny despite travelling through key routes connecting Noida and Delhi.
Investigators have also found that the bus allegedly had heavy curtains covering its windows, preventing those outside from seeing inside the vehicle. Curtains and other material that obstruct visibility are prohibited in commercial passenger vehicles under transport and court-mandated safety norms.
The case has further renewed scrutiny of safety systems made mandatory in buses after the 2012 Delhi gangrape case. Commercial passenger vehicles are required to have GPS tracking devices and panic buttons linked to monitoring and emergency-response systems.
No emergency alert was reportedly raised during the bus journey, prompting questions about whether the prescribed equipment was installed in the vehicle, functional at the time of the incident, and being monitored by the authorities.
Police have collected forensic material, including hair and other biological samples, from the bus. The samples will be matched with those of the survivor to establish that she was present in the vehicle, officials said.
Both accused have undergone medical examination. The girl has also received trauma counselling, with police personnel and family members involved in the process. Her relatives were called to Delhi so that she could be safely handed over to them.