The 17-year-old gangrape victim on a Delhi-bound sleeper bus on August 4 tried to escape, but her attempts failed as the conductor allegedly pulled her back inside.
In a police statement, the victim, a young girl from Uttar Pradesh’s Mainpuri who had left home after a disagreement with her parents, said she found herself in trouble at Pari Chowk in Greater Noida. She said she had been waiting there for a while and that it had been raining heavily when the bus stopped next to her.
She said she told the men inside the bus that she wanted to go to Noida. The men reportedly told her that the bus was headed in that direction. She added that she tried to get off the bus after realising there were no other passengers on it.
She revealed that the accused conductor, later identified as 26-year-old Sandeep, allegedly dragged her back inside. The driver, 39-year-old Kuldeep, and Sandeep then allegedly took turns raping her and threatened her with consequences if she alerted the police.
The police extracted CCTV footage to identify and reach the accused involved, four hours after the girl lodged a complaint at the Kashmere Gate police station.
Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said on Tuesday that it had issued notices to the Delhi Police Commissioner and his counterpart in Uttar Pradesh’s Gautama Buddha Nagar, where Noida is located. The NHRC has sought reports from both police chiefs within two weeks.
As per reports, the sleeper bus had 11 pending traffic challans, a defunct CCTV camera and heavy curtains covering its windows, both of which are in violation of mandatory safety regulations. The fact that the bus was allowed to pass through Greater Noida, Noida and Delhi despite these issues has raised concerns.