A 16-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped inside an empty sleeper bus in Greater Noida before being abandoned near Delhi’s Kashmere Gate, police said. Two men, identified as the bus driver and conductor, have been arrested in connection with the incident.
The alleged assault took place on August 4 near Pari Chowk, according to police. The teenager told investigators that she boarded the bus after mistakenly getting off at Pari Chowk during heavy rain and darkness while trying to find transport to Noida Sector 63.
Police identified the accused as Kuldeep, the bus driver, and Sandeep, the conductor, both from Uttar Pradesh. According to the girl’s complaint, the conductor allegedly behaved inappropriately after the bus began moving before both men sexually assaulted her and threatened to kill her if she resisted.
Investigators said the bus was empty at the time of the alleged incident. The conductor reportedly told the teenager that the bus was travelling towards Noida Sector 63, where her cousin lives. Police later established that the vehicle was actually returning empty after undergoing repairs at a workshop in Surajpur.
The teenager, who is from Mainpuri district in Uttar Pradesh, had reportedly left home without informing her family after being reprimanded by her mother over her studies. She was travelling to Noida to stay with her cousin.
After the alleged assault, the two accused reportedly abandoned the girl near Ring Road in the Kashmere Gate area of Delhi before fleeing. She later approached the police, prompting an investigation into the incident.
Police arrested Kuldeep and Sandeep from a parking area in Timarpur on the same day. The bus has since been seized and sent for forensic examination as investigators work to gather evidence.
Authorities are also examining CCTV footage from along the route to determine the bus’s movements and reconstruct the sequence of events leading up to and following the alleged assault.
The two suspects have been booked under provisions relating to gang rape, kidnapping and assault. The investigation remains ongoing.
