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The family of an arrested bus driver, Kuldeep, has alleged that he is being falsely framed in the horrific gang-rape of a 16-year-old student inside a moving sleeper bus, linking his arrest to ongoing personal enmity following his father's recent murder.
The main accused, driver Kuldeep and conductor Sandeep, were apprehended by the Delhi Police from a bus parking facility in Timarpur in connection with the August 4 incident, which occurred near the Kashmere Gate area. Speaking to ANI, the driver's family strongly refuted the charges, maintaining that Kuldeep has no prior criminal record during his 10-to-15-year driving career and appealing to the state for intervention. "My child is completely innocent. He is being falsely implicated. My husband was murdered two months ago. I suspect the very same people have framed him... I appeal to the government with folded hands: please declare my son innocent. He has a family with very young children. We are poor people... If we had the means to reach out, we would go to Delhi," said the mother of the accused driver. The driver's wife corroborated the narrative, emphasising his routine conduct and family responsibilities. "About two or three months ago, my father-in-law was murdered, so he stayed here for a month then. After that, he drove the vehicle for ten or fifteen days, then stayed home again... He has been driving for ten or fifteen years... We have grown children... There has never been any trouble. He lives peacefully at home, too... He is being falsely implicated... My demand to the government is this: we have grown children, a sixteen-year-old daughter and an eleven-year-old son, and he wouldn't do something wrong," said the wife of the accused driver.According to Delhi Police officials, the victim--a Class 11 student from Mainpuri district, Uttar Pradesh--had left her home following a family disagreement to visit a relative in Noida. The victim mistakenly disembarked at Pari Chowk in heavy rain and darkness. An empty sleeper bus stopped, and the crew allowed her to board under the pretext of travelling toward Noida Sector-63. Shortly after departure, the conductor made obscene advances before both the driver and conductor allegedly gang-raped the minor and threatened her life. The vehicle travelled approximately 47 kilometres across the National Capital Region. The accused dropped the victim off near the Ring Road adjacent to the Kashmere Gate terminal late at night and fled. After the victim reported the assault to police, authorities traced and seized the sleeper bus for forensic analysis and arrested both suspects. Condemning the incident, Shiv Sena spokesperson Shaina NC highlighted the societal breakdown surrounding crimes against women while talking to ANI. "We need to introspect on what this says about our society... Rape is about a male, misogynistic, perverted mindset that believes that it can exert power on young girls," said Shaina NC. (ANI)
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