Two men have been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl inside a moving sleeper bus in Greater Noida earlier this month before abandoning her in Delhi, police said. The incident occurred on August 4 after the teenager, who had travelled from Uttar Pradesh’s Mainpuri, was trying to reach her cousin’s home in Noida. The case has drawn attention because of similarities to the circumstances surrounding the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case.

The accused have been identified as bus driver Kuldeep, 39, and conductor Sandeep, 26. Police arrested both men from a parking lot in north Delhi’s Timarpur on the same day the complaint was registered. An employee of Vishwanath Travels, the private firm they worked for, reported that both men had been associated with the company for more than two years.

According to the police complaint, the teenager had left home without informing her family after being scolded by her mother over her studies. She reached Pari Chowk in Noida amid heavy rain and darkness at around 9 pm, only to realise that she was still about 25 km from her cousin’s residence. She was subsequently approached by a sleeper bus that had no passengers. The conductor allegedly told her that the vehicle was heading towards Noida Sector 63, prompting her to board it.

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Police investigation has established that the bus was actually returning from a workshop in Greater Noida’s Surajpur. The teenager alleged that the conductor behaved inappropriately after the bus began moving and that both men sexually assaulted her and threatened her when she resisted. After the alleged assault, the accused reportedly left her near Ring Road in Delhi’s Kashmere Gate, around 40 km from where she had boarded the vehicle.

Investigators have seized the bus and are examining evidence collected from inside it. A forensic team reportedly recovered strands of the survivor’s hair from the vehicle, while police have also collected CCTV footage from different points along the route. The sleeper bus had curtains around its berths, which investigators believe may have provided privacy for the alleged offence.

The arrests followed the survivor’s complaint and an immediate police investigation into the bus, its route and the people operating it. Authorities are continuing to examine the forensic and CCTV evidence as part of the case. The incident has also renewed concerns about the safety of women and children travelling alone, particularly in vehicles where secluded spaces can make it difficult for passengers to seek help.

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