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From Greater Noida to Delhi: 47-km bus ride ends in gangrape of 16-year-old
The Class 11 student, who lives in Mainpuri, left home on August 3 without informing her parents, the Delhi Police said.
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The driver and conductor of a sleeper bus were arrested for allegedly gang-raping a 16-year-old girl from Uttar Pradesh after misleading her into boarding the vehicle in Greater Noida, eventually dropping her off near Kashmere Gate, earlier this month, Delhi Police said on Monday.
The arrests, however, triggered a jurisdictional dispute, with UP police alleging that Delhi Police did not inform them about the incident despite the alleged sexual assault taking place in the Gautam Buddh Nagar commissionerate area.
According to Delhi Police, the Class 11 student, who lives in Mainpuri, left home on August 3 without informing her parents after being reprimanded by her mother over her studies. She intended to travel to her cousin’s home in Sector 63, Noida, deputy commissioner of police (north) Niharika Bhatt said.
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16-year-old allegedly gang-raped on moving bus
The girl told police that she accidentally got off at Pari Chowk after darkness fell and it began raining. She then saw a bus approaching and signalled for it to stop, an officer familiar with the investigation said. The conductor allegedly told her that the bus was headed towards Sector 63, following which she boarded it.
Police said there were no other passengers on the bus at the time. According to the police account, shortly after the bus began moving, the conductor allegedly behaved inappropriately towards the girl before he and the driver allegedly sexually assaulted her inside the moving bus. The two men allegedly threatened to kill her when she resisted, police said.
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Deep Dive
Bus travelled 47km from Greater Noida to Delhi
In total, the bus covered around 47km between Pari Chowk in Greater Noida (from where the victim boarded to bus), to Ring Road near Kashmere Gate Inter-State Bus Terminal, where they dropped off the victim in the early hours of August 4.
The bus travelled from Pari Chowk along the Greater Noida-Noida Expressway, entered Delhi through the Chilla border and passed through Mayur Vihar before taking the Ring Road towards Kashmere Gate. Police said the bus had curtains covering its windows, making it difficult for people outside to see what was happening inside.
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“The larger problem was that the curtains had been drawn and the bus was moving. There was no way of knowing what was going on inside,” an officer said. DCP Bhatt did not comment on how many police checkpoints the bus crossed during its journey.
Delhi Police registers FIR, arrests accused
The girl approached the Kashmere Gate police station, following which Delhi Police registered an FIR under relevant sections of gang-rape, kidnapping, and assault of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
A Delhi Police team analysed CCTV footage and traced the bus to a parking area in Timarpur, around 15 minutes from Kashmere Gate, where the two accused were arrested within four hours, the police said.
The accused, both in their early 20s and originally from Kanpur, allegedly told investigators that the bus had “developed a mechanical problem” and had been taken to a workshop in Surajpur. After the repairs, they allegedly spotted the girl near Pari Chowk, police said.
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“The two decided to target her, misleading her about the destination,” an officer said. DCP Bhatt said Delhi Police registered the case and arranged the girl’s medical examination “given the sensitive nature of the case and under the provision of the new laws.”
Greater Noida, Delhi police spar over jurisdiction
Officials of Greater Noida police, however, said on Monday that the incident had not been reported to them before the Delhi Police publicly disclosed the arrests. In a statement, the force said the alleged incident took place “in the Gautam Buddh Nagar Police Commissionerate area” and that it “was not communicated or reported to the Noida Police by the Delhi Police prior to today”.
Delhi joint commissioner of police (northern range) Madhur Verma said, “We were very professional in our conduct. Under the new provisions of the BNS, crimes against women can be registered and investigated wherever they are reported.”
