A 16-YEAR-OLD who boarded a bus in Greater Noida on a rained out night earlier this month was allegedly gangraped 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 gangrape 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 kilometres 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 autorickshaw 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.