A 16-year-old Class 11 student from Uttar Pradesh was allegedly gang-raped inside a moving sleeper bus in the Delhi-NCR region on August 4, with Delhi Police arresting the driver and conductor. The case came to light on August 31 and has drawn comparisons with the 2012 Delhi bus gang-rape because the alleged crime took place inside a moving bus.
According to police, the teenager from Mainpuri was travelling towards Noida to visit relatives. Amid heavy rain and darkness, she reportedly got off at Pari Chowk after mistakenly believing she had reached her destination. She was still around 25 km from the relatives’ home.
The girl allegedly stopped an empty sleeper bus and was told by the conductor that it was heading towards Noida Sector 63. She boarded the vehicle, but police said the bus was actually returning from a workshop in Greater Noida’s Surajpur.
According to the survivor’s complaint, the conductor allegedly sexually assaulted her after the bus began moving, followed by the driver. The two men allegedly threatened to kill her if she resisted. Police said the bus travelled nearly 47 km before the girl was abandoned near the Kashmere Gate area in Delhi.
The accused, identified as driver Kuldeep and conductor Sandeep, were arrested from a parking area in north Delhi’s Timarpur. Police seized the bus for forensic examination and collected CCTV footage from the route. Investigators also reportedly recovered strands of the survivor’s hair from inside the vehicle.
The case has raised questions about safety measures in sleeper and passenger buses, particularly the use of curtains that can obstruct visibility from outside. Such safety concerns had also emerged after the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case.
Separate case involving nursery student
In another case reported from outer-north Delhi, a three-year-old nursery student was allegedly sexually assaulted at a private school in the Pooth Khurd area. Police arrested a school bus driver after the child allegedly identified him using photographs and CCTV footage.
Police said the alleged incident came to light on August 19 after the child’s family noticed injuries. A Special Investigation Team has been constituted to investigate the case, while CCTV footage from the school has been taken for forensic examination.
Delhi Police have also advised schools and private operators to ensure proper verification of personnel and vehicles involved in transporting children.