NEW DELHI: A 16-year-old girl was gang-raped aboard a moving private bus in India, with a subsequent examination of its 43-kilometre route revealing major gaps in security and surveillance.
The teenager boarded the sleeper bus at Pari Chowk in Greater Noida on August 4, believing she would be dropped at Noida Sector 63. Police say she was sexually assaulted by the driver and conductor before being abandoned near Kashmere Gate in Delhi.
A media ground check of the route found only two checkpoints across the 43-km stretch.
India Bus Assault Raises Security Questions
At Pari Chowk, a police booth, patrol vehicle and barricades were visible. However, at the busy Delhi-Noida border near Mayur Vihar, barricades were present, but no police personnel were seen during the daytime inspection.
The report also found no visible CCTV cameras at traffic signals there. At Kashmere Gate, no visible checkpoint or barricading was found.
Delhi Police are now mapping the bus route and examining available CCTV footage to reconstruct its movements.
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Police arrested the driver, Kuldeep, 39, and conductor, Sandeep, 26, within hours of the registration of the case.
The bus has been seized for forensic examination. Investigators also reported finding strands of the teenager’s hair inside the vehicle.
The case has intensified scrutiny of surveillance and security measures along heavily travelled routes connecting Delhi and neighbouring areas.
