NEW DELHI: The bus company whose vehicle was allegedly used in the gang-rape of a 16-year-old girl in Delhi said the driver and conductor had been instructed to take the bus to Timarpur for repairs on the night of August 4, hours before the company learnt that the vehicle had been seized and the two men arrested.Monu Gupta, manager of the bus travel company, said the bus had been parked at Himgiri, Surajpur, from July 27 to August 4 for repair work due to a sensor-related issue.“We had asked the driver and conductor to take the bus to Timarpur for repair. The next morning, we received a call from the Administration, we were told that the bus had been seized and the driver and conductor were arrested,” Gupta said.Recounting the bus’s movements, Gupta said the vehicle was taken out of Himgiri around 5pm on August 4 after the repairs were completed.The driver and conductor later moved it out again around 9pm and were instructed to proceed towards Timarpur.“We had parked the car in Himgiri to repair it. When it was repaired on the 4th of August, we took the car from there. We took the car out of Himgiri at 5 in the evening.”“After that, they parked the car a little further from there. They took the car out at 9. After taking the car out at 9, we told them to go to Timarpur.”Gupta said the company expected the bus to reach Timarpur but instead received a call from Delhi authorities the following morning informing them that the vehicle had been seized.“When we went to Timarbur, we thought that the vehicle had reached Timarbur. In the morning, we got a call from the Delhi administration that this vehicle has been caught.”He said the company had submitted the accused men’s Aadhaar cards and driving licences to police.“Both the driver and conductor are from rural Kanpur. We have submitted their Aadhaar cards to the Police.”According to Gupta, the two men, both from Kanpur district, had been working with the company for around two years.“They have been working here for the last two years.”Asked about the men’s conduct at work, Gupta said the driver had not previously raised concerns for the company.“The driver was fine, he didn’t smoke or drink. But now it is in the sight of God, what he did and what he didn’t do, only he knows.”Gupta said the company generally interacted with the two men when the vehicle was coming in or going out.Asked about the seriousness of the allegations, he acknowledged the impact of the incident on the company.“There is a lot of fear, there is a lot of defamation. There is nothing like that, everything happens.”He said Delhi Police had informed the company that the accused had been sent to jail and that the matter would now be decided by the court.“The Delhi police said that they are guilty, they have been sent to jail. Now the court will take their decision.”The company’s account comes amid the investigation into the alleged gang-rape of the 16-year-old, who police said was abandoned at Kashmere Gate on August 4.The girl had been travelling from Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh to meet her cousin in Noida but allegedly got off at Pari Chowk during heavy rain.Police said she later boarded the bus at Noida Sector 63.The accused, identified as Kuldeep and Sandeep, were working as the driver and conductor of the bus. Police seized the UP-registered vehicle as part of the investigation.According to police sources, the accused allegedly told investigators that they thought they would not be caught if they abandoned the girl in Delhi.(With agency inputs)
