A 25-year-old woman travelling with her children from UP's Prataphgarh to Noida, on June 17, was allegedly raped by the bus driver on a moving bus, stated police. The bus had two drivers and a support staff. The driver accused of the crime has run away, and the other has been held for frightening the woman, added police.
The woman lodged an FIR under Indian Penal Code Sections 376 and 506, at the Sector 20 police station in Noida, but the incident took place somewhere between Lucknow to Mathura, the police added further.
DSP (Women safety) Vrinda Shukla said, "It was an AC sleeper bus, coming to Noida from Pratapgarh. According to information given to police by the woman, it appears the incident took place in the night when the bus would have been on a stretch between Lucknow and Mathura."
According to officials, the woman was travelling on a long-distance private bus along with her two children and 10 other passengers at the time of the incident. The bus is registered under UP 17 (Baghpat district) but is owned by an operator based in Noida. It was the woman's first trip to Noida from Pratapgarh, where she originally belonged.
The DSP further said, "As the complaint was made after the woman reached here, an FIR was immediately lodged." One out of the two drivers is under custody and the bus has been seized. Police teams have been deployed to arrest the accused driver and the owner of the bus, she added.
Shukla also mentioned that the woman has been sent for a medical test, and that the further proceedings of the case have been undertaken. "All co-passengers are being traced and their statements are being taken so that a charge sheet in the case could be filed soon," she said.
Officials also said that the woman was sitting in the last seat when the accused allegedly forced themselves on her. She was threatened to face dire consequences if she raised her voice. The woman got off the bus after reaching Noida in the morning, and narrated the incident to her husband, a vegetable vendor, who came to pick her and the children up.
