Nearly 14 years after the Nirbhaya gang rape shook the country and forced sweeping changes in India’s rape laws, another alleged sexual assault inside a moving bus in Delhi has revived the 2012 atrocities.
On Monday night, a 30-year-old woman was returning home from work and arrived at the B-block bus stop in Saraswati Vihar district, when investigators said men inside a Bihar-registered sleeper bus raped her as the vehicle continued to move through the streets of Delhi.
The incident This bears a stark reminder of what happened in December 2012, when Nirbhaya, a medical student, boarded a private bus in Munirka and was brutally raped. The 23-year-old was assaulted by six men inside the moving bus as it passed through south Delhi. The woman later died of her injuries in a hospital in Singapore.
Opposition says ‘a repeat of Nirbhaya’
AAP MP Sanjay Singh drew similarities between the two incidents, saying: “A gang rape inside a moving bus is a repeat of the Nirbhaya case.. Is this the security situation in the national capital? Is this the safety that is provided to women and girls?“
The Nirbhaya case sparked widespread protests across the country. In the years that followed, both the Center and the Delhi government launched a series of measures aimed at protecting women from violence. But the latest incident has once again raised doubts about the effectiveness of these guarantees on the ground.
The demand of time turned into horror
The woman, who works in a factory in Mangolpuri and lives with her family in Pitampura, told police that a sleeping bus had stopped near the bus stand. When she asked a man standing near the car at the time, he allegedly motioned for her to come closer before forcefully pulling her into the bus.
The bus then continued moving for several kilometers towards Nangloi while two men sexually assaulted her inside the vehicle, police said.
A police officer involved in the investigation said the sleeper bus had curtains covering its windows, making it difficult for outsiders to see inside the vehicle.
Abandoned near Nangloi MRT station
Investigators said the bus eventually stopped near Nangloi MRT station, where the accused left the woman before fleeing.
She later called the police, after which officers reached the spot and took her to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital for medical examination.
The police registered an FIR under the gang rape charges and related provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act, 2023.
The accused – driver Umesh and Commander Ramendra – have been arrested and sent to judicial custody, police said.
(With inputs from Himani Bhandari)
