New Delhi, Aug 31: A 16-year-old girl was gang-raped inside an empty sleeper bus by its driver and conductor in Greater Noida earlier this month, police said on Monday, adding that both accused have been arrested in connection with the case.

According to police, the incident took place near Pari Chowk on August 4. The survivor alleged in her complaint that the two accused sexually assaulted her and threatened to kill her if she resisted. They later abandoned her near Kashmere Gate in Delhi.

The accused, identified as driver Kuldeep and conductor Sandeep, were arrested from a parking area in Timarpur on the same day.

Police have seized the bus and sent it for forensic examination. Investigators have also collected CCTV footage from the route taken by the bus as part of the probe. Police said the footage is being examined to establish the sequence of events and trace the movements of the vehicle.

The teenager is a resident of Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh. Police said she had left her home without informing her family after her mother reprimanded her over her studies. She was travelling to Noida Sector 63, where her cousin lives.

According to the girl’s statement to police, she mistakenly got down at Pari Chowk amid heavy rain and darkness. After realising that she had reached the wrong location, she tried to find another vehicle and eventually stopped the sleeper bus. Police said there were no passengers inside the bus at the time.

The conductor allegedly told the girl that the bus was heading towards NoidaSector 63, following which she boarded the vehicle. Police said the bus was actually returning empty after undergoing repairs at a workshop in Surajpur.

The girl alleged that soon after the bus began moving, the conductor started behaving inappropriately towards her. She further alleged that both men then sexually assaulted her and threatened to kill her if she resisted.

After the assault, the two accused abandoned the girl near Ring Road in Delhi’s Kashmere Gate and fled from the spot. She subsequently approached the police and reported the incident, following which an investigation was launched.

Kuldeep and Sandeep have been booked under charges relating to gang rape, kidnapping and assault.

Police said the sleeper bus had curtains covering the individual berths, which may have provided privacy inside the vehicle during the alleged crime.

As part of the forensic investigation, teams recovered strands of the girl’s hair from inside the bus. The vehicle has been seized, and forensic examination is being conducted to collect further evidence that could support the investigation.

Ranchi, Aug 31: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID), probing irregularities in Jharkhand’s JPSC and JSSC recruitment examinations, has uncovered a massive scam involving a sophisticated racket that ranged from software-based result manipulation to removing answer scripts from highly secure strong rooms for rewriting.

The revelations have come from statements of arrested employees and directors of examination-conducting agencies, as well as middlemen interrogated during the CID probe.

Investigators have found evidence suggesting that answer scripts were taken out of secure strong rooms, rewritten by experts at hotels and rented flats, and later returned clandestinely to the storage facilities.

The CID is currently expanding its investigation by examining technical evidence, server logs and financial transactions linked to the alleged syndicate.

According to the CID’s Special Investigation Team (SIT), outsourced agencies responsible for conducting examinations allegedly developed software and online portals specifically designed to manipulate examination results.

During questioning, accused Hemant Verma, an employee of vendor agency TSR Data Processing Pvt Ltd, stated that the modus operandi was similar to the irregularities reported in Uttar Pradesh’s RO-ARO examination.

He alleged that in 2025, the directors of TDPL collaborated with a private company to develop a customised software platform for JPSC examinations. He told investigators that this software enabled operators to identify favoured candidates before examinations and alter their answers directly through the database.

Further disclosures on manipulation in the main examination came from the statements of the accused recorded by the CID.

According to these statements, answer scripts were deposited in the strong room at the JPSC office after examinations and blank answer sheets belonging to selected candidates were secretly removed.

The answer scripts were then allegedly handed over by TDPL directors Ramveer Singh, Satyapal Singh, Pradeep Kumar Singh and Mohammad Usmani to experts at various hotels and rented accommodations. In the presence of specialists and the concerned candidates, answers were filled into the scripts before they were covertly returned to the strong room.

Another key accused, Abhay Tiwari, also admitted before the CID that after the preliminary examination for Assistant Conservator of Forest and Forest Range Officer posts, a room was rented at Hari Om Tower in Ranchi under the pretext of preparing for the main examination.

According to his statement, agents of the racket brought subject experts from Punjab, Haryana and Lucknow to write answer scripts on behalf of candidates.

The investigation has further revealed that, after the answer-writing process, attempts were allegedly made to inflate candidates’ marks by approaching professors from various colleges and universities. In his confession, Abhay Tiwari claimed he paid Rs 40 lakh to get answer scripts written and secured higher marks for his candidates.

The CID has intensified its probe to establish the full extent of the network and identify all individuals involved in the alleged examination fraud.

Kolkata, Aug 31: At least nine people were arrested in a police operation at a resort in Lataguri in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district for running a sex racket, said the police on Monday.

Among them were five youths, three women and a resort employee. It is learnt that three women were from north Bengal’s Siliguri and the five youths hailed from Assam. The arrested will be produced before a Jalpaiguri court later in the day, an officer from Malbazar police station said.

Malbazar police station Inspector-in-Charge (IC) Paljar Bhutia said that illegal activities will not be tolerated in any resort in Lataguri. “We have arrested several people. We are investigating which other resorts are hosting such illegal activities,” said the officer.

The operation was led by Malbazar Subdistrict Police Officer Sudipta Sarkar, Malbazar police station Inspector-in-Charge Paljar Bhutia and Kranti outpost Officer-in-Charge Tenzing Bhutia.

While conducting a raid at a resort near Saraswati Banbasti in Lataguri late on Sunday night, the police found three women and five youths in an objectionable condition. A resort employee was also arrested.

During the initial investigation, the police found that the three women arrested from the resort lived in Siliguri. It is said that one of them is from Haryana and the other are from Uttar Dinajpur district. They had been living in Siliguri for the past few years. It is alleged that the racket was being run through a youth from Lataguri. He, however, fled after receiving the news of the raid. The police have started searching for him.

On receiving information through sources, the police conducted the raid at the resort, the officials said.

This is not the first time that a sex racket has been busted in the tourist town of Lataguri. According to Malbazar police sources, there have been complaints of racketeers operating in several resorts in Lataguri for a long time. Based on that information, the latest operation was successful.