NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police has filed a 398-page chargesheet against a sleeper bus driver and conductor for allegedly gang-raping a minor during a journey from Greater Noida to Delhi in August. Biological evidence, including semen samples and hair strands recovered from the vehicle, forms a key part of the case. The chargesheet was filed before a city court on September 18, which took cognisance of it on September 24, police said.
The incident allegedly took place on the night of August 4 when the minor, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, boarded the bus in Greater Noida after being told it was headed towards Noida Sector 63, where she wanted to go. According to police, the minor realised after boarding that there were no other passengers and tried to get off. However, the conductor allegedly prevented her from leaving and locked the door.
The bus subsequently travelled towards Delhi, where the minor was allegedly assaulted before being dropped near the Kashmere Gate bus terminal. She then filed a police complaint. Police traced the bus and arrested the driver and conductor. Multiple police teams examined CCTV footage along the route and traced the bus to a parking area in Timarpur within hours. Driver Kuldeep and conductor Sandeep, both residents of Kanpur, were arrested, police said.
The chargesheet has cited 10 police personnel, doctors and others as witnesses. During forensic examination of the bus, investigators recovered biological evidence, including alleged semen samples and hair strands, which were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for examination. The probe also revealed several safety and regulatory lapses involving the bus.
It had 11 pending traffic challans, including seven issued in July for alleged overspeeding. Its CCTV camera was non-functional and curtains had been installed on the windows. Investigators also found that the vehicle lacked safety features such as a panic button and a vehicle tracking system. Police said the two accused had allegedly been employed without police verification.
The incident brought back memories of the 2012 Nirbhaya case, in which a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern was raped and tortured in a bus before being dumped on a road.
The SC on Monday took suo motu cognisance of news reports about the sleeper bus incident and other crimes against minor girls and women across Delhi-NCR. The court observed that such cases underline a systematic failure on the part of law enforcement authorities.
A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran said one could not help but draw painful parallels with the 2012 Nirbhaya case, raising questions over whether systemic law enforcement mechanisms had made meaningful progress in the decade since then.
Horror on wheels
Incident took place inside the bus on August 4
The chargesheet cited 10 police personnel, doctors and others as witnessess
The bus had 11 pending traffic challans, including seven for overspeeding
Its CCTV camera was non-functional, while curtains covered the bus windows
The vehicle lacked panic buttons, tracking systems & police verification for employees
