A 16-year-old girl from Uttar Pradesh was raped by two men on a bus. The girl was allegedly raped while travelling on a private sleeper bus from Greater Noida to Delhi; the driver and conductor have since been named as accused, and she was reportedly abandoned near Kashmere Gate. Delhi government direct all the bus operators to ensure passenger safety.
Transport minister Pankaj Kumar Singh said that passenger safety is non-negotiable and directed operators to ensure that all buses are equipped with GPS trackers, SOS buttons, fire extinguishers and CCTV. He also directed that buses be parked during night or idle hours only at authorised and secure locations and barred to stopping at unsafe or unauthorised location.
The Delhi government has directed its Transport Department to launch an inspection drive across the city’s bus fleet, checking that panic buttons and Vehicle Location Tracking Devices (VLTDs) are installed and functioning properly on every bus.
Officials have made clear that safety equipment cannot simply be installed and forgotten; panic buttons must also be easily accessible to passengers. TPB
