Two men who allegedly violated a 16-year-old girl on a moving bus in Greater Noida earlier this month fell into the police dragnet, the police said. The duo had been attached to a private travel firm named Vishwanath Travels, for over two years, as per employees of the firm.

The incident draws parallels with the dreaded Nirbhaya gang-rape case dating back to 2012, and unfolded on August 4 after the minor girl boarded an empty bus to go to Noida Sector 63.

Driver and conductor arrested

According to police, the bus driver identified as Kuldeep (39) and the conductor of the vehicle, Sandeep (26) were arrested from a parking lot in North Delhi’s Timarpur on the same day when the teen was allegedly gang-raped.

The survivor girl said in her police complaint that she left home for her cousin’s house in Noida without informing her family, after her mother reprimanded her over studies. She got down in Noida’s Pari Chowk amid heavy rain and darkness, only to realise that she had not reached her destination, while the clock struck 9 pm.

Alone and drenched in the rain, she needed a ride to reach her cousin’s house, which was still 35 kilometres away. Eventually, a sleeper-bus stopped near her, which had no passengers onboard at the time.

The bus inside which the girl was violated

Conductor sexually assaults girl, driver follows

The conductor of the bus allegedly told the girl that the vehicle too had been heading towards Noida Sector 63, after which she boarded the bus. Police learnt that the bus was actually on its way back from a workshop in Greater Noida’s Surajpur.

The teen detailed her ordeal in the complaint, mentioning that the conductor began behaving inappropriately soon after the vehicle began moving, and subsequently sexually assaulted her. Following this, the driver too violated her, and the duo threatened to kill her if she resisted the sexual assault.

Post-assault, the duo abandoned her near Ring Road in Delhi’s Kashmere Gate, following which she filed a police complaint. The cops launched a manhunt soon after for the accused, as well as an in-depth probe into the incident.

Accused took advantage of curtains inside sleeper bus

Police, during its probe, found out that the sleeper bus had curtains covering the berths, which the accused capitalised on for executing the detestable incident. The police have since seized the bus, and have also furnished CCTV footage from the route taken by the bus.