The Uttarakhand Police have apprehended five individuals on charges of gang-raping a teenage girl in a government-operated bus at the Interstate Bus Terminal (ISBT) in Dehradun. The arrests, made on Sunday, include two drivers and a cashier employed at the Dehradun ISBT, according to senior superintendent of police Ajay Singh.Incident overviewThe horrific incident reportedly occurred on August 12, but authorities were only informed on Saturday. The Dehradun Child Welfare Committee (CWC) alerted the police after finding the teenage girl sitting alone late at night on a bench at the Dehradun ISBT.Upon discovery, the girl was taken to Bal Niketan, a government-run girls home. During counseling sessions, she disclosed the details of the alleged rape, prompting the authorities to take immediate action.Legal actions and arrestsFollowing the victims account, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered at the Patel Nagar police station under Section 70 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The complaint, filed by a CWC member on Saturday, led to a swift police response.The police identified the bus where the crime occurred by reviewing CCTV footage and subsequently arrested the five suspects. The accused include Dharmendra Kumar (32) and Rajpal (57) from Buggawala in Uttarakhands Haridwar, Devendra (52) from Bhagwanpur in Haridwar, Rajesh Kumar Sonkar (38) from Dehradun, and Ravi Kumar (34) from Nawabganj in Uttar Pradeshs Farrukhabad district.Details of the incidentAccording to the police, Devendra, the bus conductor, encountered the girl at the Kashmiri Gate ISBT in Delhi. She had asked for directions to Punjab, and Devendra advised her to travel to Dehradun first. However, after reaching Dehradun, when all the passengers had disembarked, Devendra and the bus driver, Dharmendra, allegedly raped the girl. Two other drivers, Ravi and Rajpal, also became aware of the situation and allegedly participated in the crime. Devendra later informed Rajesh Kumar Sonkar, the cashier at the Uttarakhand Roadways, who also allegedly raped the girl on the bus.
