The 30-year-old woman from Delhi's Pitampura, desperate to get home to her three young daughters, says a simple question at the Saraswati Vihar bus stop changed the course of her night.
Standing alone at the bus stand past midnight, she approached a private bus only to ask a man inside for the time. Minutes later, police said, she was allegedly gangraped inside the moving vehicle by two men.
Asked to come inside
The woman told police that she had gone to her brother’s house in Sultanpuri earlier that day to help him shift houses. Late at night, while returning home, she managed to get an e-rickshaw till Saraswati Vihar on the Outer Ring Road.
“I was standing at the bus stop when this private bus stopped. I asked a man standing inside about what time it was. He asked me to come inside the bus and speak to him. So, I boarded the bus,” she said.
According to police, moments after she stepped inside, the bus started moving. The man allegedly pushed her towards the back of the vehicle and raped her while it was on the move.
{{/usCountry}}According to police, moments after she stepped inside, the bus started moving. The man allegedly pushed her towards the back of the vehicle and raped her while it was on the move.
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‘My children are waiting for me’
The woman said she repeatedly pleaded with the accused to let her go.
“I told them I won’t take any action against you. Please let me go. I have three children waiting for me at home,” she told HT.
She further alleged that when the bus reached near Nangloi Railway Station, the vehicle was parked and the driver also raped her.
“When they reached near Nangloi Railway Station, they parked the bus and then the driver also raped me,” she said.
After the assault, she said she continued begging the men to release her.
“I told them what’s done is done and I will not take any action against them. That’s why they let me go. I then called the police,” she said.
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Two accused arrested
Police identified the accused as Umesh Kumar and Ramendra Kumar, both in their late 30s and originally from Uttar Pradesh. Officials said the two men have been arrested and sent to judicial custody.
Investigators said that by the time police reached the spot, Ramendra had allegedly fled with two or three other men, while Umesh was still present there.
Police immediately took Umesh into custody, while the woman — who was bleeding — was taken to a government hospital in Pitampura for medical examination.
Doctors reportedly advised her to get admitted, but she refused, saying, "I cannot because my husband is unwell and my daughters are waiting for me,” she said.
The woman lives with her husband and their three daughters, aged four, six and nine.
Curtains, tinted windows and tracker missing
The case has also raised questions about enforcement of transport safety rules introduced after the 2012 Delhi gangrape case.
In 2012, the Supreme Court prohibited the use of black films and other materials such as curtains or mesh on vehicle windows. Later, in 2016, the Union road transport ministry made vehicle location tracking devices and emergency buttons mandatory in all public service vehicles.
Police said both features were missing from the bus involved in the case, police said on Thursday.
Investigators added that both accused had valid permits obtained by the bus company for operating interstate buses.
(With inputs from Hemani Bhandari)