Framing a ‘watertight’ charge sheet in bus gang-rape case, says Delhi Police

NEW DELHIThe Delhi Police have collected biological samples from a bus, in which a 16-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by its driver and conductor on August 4, recorded statements of a slew of witnesses and compiled footage from CCTV cameras to form a “watertight case”, officers aware of the developments said on Tuesday

NEW DELHI

The bus, in which the incident allegedly took place. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

The Delhi Police have collected biological samples from a bus, in which a 16-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by its driver and conductor on August 4, recorded statements of a slew of witnesses and compiled footage from CCTV cameras to form a “watertight case”, officers aware of the developments said on Tuesday. They said that the charge sheet in the case is likely to be filed within two weeks.

Police said the samples include hair strands of the victim, among other exhibits, which will form a key part of the charge sheet.

A police officer associated with the probe, requesting anonymity, said that they have written to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to expedite the report. “An official request has been sent to the FSL division, asking them to share the report at the earliest, preferably in the next 10 days, so it can be attached with the charge sheet,” the officer said.

The driver and conductor of a sleeper bus allegedly gang-raped a 16-year-old from Uttar Pradesh in Greater Noida earlier this month after they misled the teenager, who had run away from home, into boarding the vehicle. The bus covered a distance of around 47km between Pari Chowk in Greater Noida, from where the accused picked up the victim, to the Ring Road area near the Kashmere Gate Inter-State Bus Terminal, where they dropped off the victim in the early hours of August 4. The bus had curtains covering the windows, making it difficult to see inside from outside, police said. The Class 11 student, a resident of Mainpuri, had told police she ran away from her house on August 3 after being reprimanded by her mother over her studies, and intended to stay at a cousin house in Sector 63 in Noida.

The officer, asking not to be named, said, “The statement of her cousin—her uncle’s son whom she had planned to visit—has also been recorded, along with that of the owner of the bus, who has an office in Delhi, and officials of the Child Welfare Committee who spoke to the girl and counselled her,” the officer said.

These statements will form a major part of the charge sheet as well and are “very crucial” for a “watertight case”, the officer added.

The first officer said that they have collected two CCTV footages—one where the girl was seen boarding the bus at Pari Chowk and another where the girl was seen being dropped in the Kashmere Gate area. “The DVR has been seized and due procedure is being followed to add that as evidence,” the officer said.

The second officer said that as per the bus owner’s statement, he had purchased the vehicle about three months ago and it yet to be allotted a route. “On the day of the incident as well, it was not on a route. It had gone to two repair shops before it reached Pari Chowk, convinced the girl that they were going towards Noida Sector 63, where she had to go, and forced her into the bus,” the officer said.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday said it has issued notices to the police commissioners of Delhi and Gautam Budh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh. The commission observed that the content of the news report, if true, raises serious issues of human rights violations.

“Therefore, it has issued notices to the police commissioners of Delhi and Gautam Buddha Nagar and Mainpuri’s superintendent of police, calling for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks. The report is expected to include the status of the investigation and compensation, if any, paid to the victim,” the NHRC said.

Following the incident, the victim approached the Kashmere Gate police station and reported the rape. An FIR was registered on charges of gang rape and assault under the BNS and relevant sections of the Protection of Children against Sexual Assault (POCSO) Act. Upon receiving the complaint, a police team analysed CCTV footage and traced the bus to a parking area in Timarpur, just 15 minutes away from Kashmere Gate, from where the two accused were arrested within four hours.

with agency inputs