A 26-year-old female passenger was allegedly sexually assaulted on a moving private bus in Telangana while she was travelling with her nine-year-old daughter on July 31. One of the two drivers of the bus belonging to Hari Krishna Travels allegedly assaulted the survivor, according to the Osmania University police.
The bus from Nirmal town was heading to Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh. “We received a call on Dial 100 from the survivor and she informed us that she got into the bus at 6:20 pm on July 30. The accused Krishna asked her to shift to another berth in the bus after which he gagged her and then sexually assaulted her,” Inspector Rajender told the media, adding that the attack took place while 30 passengers in the bus were asleep.
“The daughter of the survivor was next to the victim but was in a deep sleep and did not witness the assault,” Rajender told TNM.
The Osmania University police intercepted the sleeper bus on the outskirts of Hyderabad past midnight after the victim called Dial 100. However, the accused driver Krishna got down from the bus and escaped when the vehicle slowed down near the Mettuguda area. The other driver, Siddaiah has been taken into custody for further questioning.
The police have registered a case under Section 64(1) (punishment for rape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the victim has been sent to undergo a medical examination. Rajender said they are on the lookout for the absconding driver Krishna.