NEW DELHI: A 17-year-old girl was allegedly raped on a sleeper bus that travelled nearly 47 km from Greater Noida to Old Delhi's Kashmere Gate without being checked at a single police picket, sources said.
The incident, which took place on August 4, has raised fresh concerns over the implementation of safety measures mandated for public and private passenger buses after the December 16 gangrape case in 2012.
Niharika Bhatt, DCP, North Delhi, said, "On the night of August 4, a 17-year-old girl approached Kashmere Gate Police Station and reported that she had been raped inside a bus in Noida. During the inquiry, it was found that the girl was travelling from Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh and the alleged sexual assault took place while she was travelling from Pari Chowk, Greater Noida".
The accused have been identified as driver Kuldeep, 39, and conductor Sandeep, 26. The duo, hailing from Kanpur, was arrested within four hours of the incident, said officers.
After the incident, Bhatt added, the duo allegedly dropped the minor off at a location on Ring Road, within the jurisdiction of Kashmere Gate Police Station, far away from the scene of the crime.
"Considering the sensitive nature of the case and in accordance with the new criminal laws, Kashmere Gate Police immediately arranged the victim's medical examination and registered a case without getting into jurisdictional issues. With the help of CCTV cameras, the police traced the bus within four hours and arrested both accused. The victim was produced before the Child Welfare Committee and, as per its directions, was handed over to her father. The investigation into the case is still underway," Bhatt said.
Police have collected forensic evidence from the bus, including hair strands and semen samples. The two accused have also undergone medical examinations.
According to sources, Kuldeep and Sandeep had taken the bus to a workshop in Surajpur, Greater Noida, for repairs after it developed a technical fault.
The duo worked with Vishwanath Travels for the last two years. After the vehicle was repaired, sources said, the two were driving back to a parking facility in North Delhi's Timarpur when they noticed the girl.
Police sources claimed she was waiting alone at Pari Chowk. The two men allegedly persuaded her to board the vehicle. Officers said the girl was allegedly gangraped inside the bus. The accused then allegedly abandoned her at Kashmere Gate. The girl approached the police booth nearby and asked for directions for the police station. Officers present at the booth made her board an auto and asked it to take her to the Kashmere Gate police station, said sources.
After the incident, the accused allegedly took the vehicle to the Timarpur parking area, where they were later arrested by police, said officers.
Eleven pending traffic challans against the bus, and a defunct CCTV camera inside the bus where a 17-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped earlier this month, has raised questions over compliance with mandatory safety norms for commercial passenger vehicles.
The challans against the bus include violations related to retro-reflective tape and speed-limit devices, driving without a permit or non-compliance to permit conditions, as well as violations of prescribed speed limits. According to sources, seven of these challans were issued in July — on July 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 11 and 23
The passenger bus, run by a private operator, usually enters Delhi during the early hours, around 3.30 to 4 am, according to investigators. Its last recorded entry into the capital was on July 29, after which it was taken to Greater Noida for servicing, they added.
The investigation has also revealed that the bus had allegedly had heavy curtains covering its windows, restricting visibility into the passenger compartment, which is prohibited under the applicable safety requirements after the 2012 gangrape case in the Capital.
The bus had also travelled through several stretches connecting Noida and Delhi, including the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway and the Ring Road corridor. During its movement, it passed through or near major entry and exit points, including the Chilla border, Mayur Vihar and Geeta Colony. Despite travelling through these stretches, the vehicle was not stopped for a safety or compliance check, officers said. No alert was raised during the journey.
Such buses are also required to be equipped with systems including GPS or vehicle-tracking mechanisms and panic buttons, which are intended to be connected with monitoring or emergency-response mechanisms.
Investigators are now examining whether these systems were installed in the bus, whether they were functional at the time of the incident and whether any alerts or location data were generated during the journey. They are also looking into whether the bus had been subjected to the requisite checks and whether its previous traffic violations had prompted any enforcement action.
The 11 pending challans are likely to form part of the broader investigation into the vehicle's regulatory compliance and movement. Officers are also examining the circumstances in which the bus continued to operate despite the recorded violations.
A 47 km journey through the heart of NCR, 11 unpaid challans, curtains blocking view, no CCTV, no GPS alert — the same failures flagged after 2012. The bus has been seized. The system that let it run has not.