NEW DELHI: After the alleged gangrape of a 16-year-old girl inside a moving sleeper bus came to light, advocate Seema Kushwaha drew parallels with the 2012 Nirbhaya case and questioned how the bus was allowed to travel nearly 47km with its curtains drawn and lights switched off.Kushwaha who represented the family in the 2012 Nirbhaya case, said the similarities with the Nirbhaya case raised serious questions over the safety of women travelling in Delhi and surrounding areas and demanded accountability from the police and authorities.“Nirbhaya incident occurred on a moving bus; this incident too occurred on a moving bus. So, this is a big question mark – daughters were sage neither then nor right now…This girl was gang-raped on the bus for about 47 kms. Delhi Police had kept this case hidden. Today, when the accused were arrested, the things came to light.”Questioning how the bus was able to continue unchecked, she said, “A moving bus had its curtains drawn, all its lights switched off. What was the Police doing? Why are they not alert? The same thing had happened with Nirbhaya…”Kushwaha also questioned whether women could feel safe while travelling or stepping out of their homes.“Who will take guarantee of our daughters’ safety when they step out of their house? They are not safe anywhere…”
Seema Kushwaha questions police negligence
Kushwaha stressed that stronger implementation of laws meant to protect women was needed and questioned why no police personnel had been arrested in connection with the incident so far.“The proper implementation of laws on women’s security is really important…Why have no Police personnel been arrested so far? Why has the accountability of check posts been fixed so far? This is negligence…”She said failure to act against those responsible could further undermine women’s sense of security.“If no action is taken, daughters cannot feel safe anywhere…Senior officers in UP and Delhi Govt should fix accountability of their officers…”
16-year-old allegedly assaulted on moving bus
The remarks came after a 16-year-old Class 11 student from Mainpuri was allegedly gang-raped inside a sleeper bus on August 4, police said.The girl had left home after being scolded by her mother and was travelling to Noida Sector 63 to meet her cousin.She mistakenly got off at Pari Chowk in Greater Noida amid heavy rain and later boarded the bus after its conductor allegedly told her that it was headed towards Sector 63.Police said the bus was not on regular passenger service and had been taken to Surajpur for repairs before the driver and conductor picked it up.The girl alleged that she was sexually assaulted during the journey and later abandoned near Kashmere Gate in Delhi. She then reached the police station in an auto-rickshaw.Delhi Police later arrested bus driver Kuldeep, 39, and conductor Sandeep, 26, both from Kanpur, after tracing the vehicle through CCTV footage.Police said the bus travelled nearly 47km from Greater Noida to Kashmere Gate.Investigators are examining CCTV footage and the route to establish how the vehicle travelled such a distance and whether it stopped anywhere before the girl was abandoned.The travel company operating the bus said the vehicle was under repair and its CCTV cameras were not functional at the time.The case has revived memories of the 2012 Nirbhaya crime, in which a 22-year-old physiotherapy intern was gang-raped inside an off-duty private bus in Delhi.The incident triggered nationwide outrage and led to major changes in India’s laws dealing with sexual offences.(With agency inputs)(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
