In yet another shocking incident from the national capital, a woman was allegedly gang-raped by the driver and conductor of a private sleeper bus in Northwest Delhi.
Delhi Police confirmed the arrest of two suspects and the seizure of a vehicle following the assault, which took place late on Tuesday night.
According to the victim's statement, the incident occurred while she was returning to her home in a Pitampura slum cluster after completing a shift at a factory in Mangolpuri.
The survivor reported that, while walking near the B-block bus stand in Saraswati Vihar around midnight, she approached a man near a parked sleeper bus to ask for the time. She alleged that she was then lured toward the vehicle and forcibly taken inside.
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The two men allegedly gang-raped her as the bus traveled several kilometers through the city. The survivor was eventually abandoned near the Nangloi metro station, where she sought help and reported the crime to the authorities, reported Hindustan Times.
Delhi Police officials stated that a fast-track investigation is underway to ensure "stringent legal action" against the accused driver and conductor currently in custody.
AAP alleges 'cover-Up'
While a FIR has been registered and forensic teams have begun inspecting the seized bus, the timing of the police response has come under fire. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bhardwaj condemned the delay in public disclosure, accusing the police of a deliberate two-day silence.
"Police deliberately concealed information for two days; were they trying to cover up the incident?" Bhardwaj asked, further alleging that the department was prioritizing 'media management' over transparency," reported PTI
The case has deeply unsettled the capital, as the circumstances, a brutal assault within a moving public vehicle at night, mirror the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape. That landmark case resulted in a global outcry and significant reforms to India's criminal laws regarding sexual violence.
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