Noida: Weeks after a 17-year-old girl was raped inside a sleeper bus while travelling from Pari Chowk to Delhi’s Kashmere Gate, transport officials have seized 115 private buses in Noida and Ghaziabad.The action came during a three-day enforcement drive against sleeper and inter-city buses that are violating mandatory norms and putting passengers at risk. Apart from the seizures, around 156 private buses were issued challans. Around Rs 33.72 lakh in compounding fees and Rs 5.53 lakh in tax were recovered during the drive.On Aug 4, the girl sought a lift from a sleeper bus at Pari Chowk. A probe by Delhi Police revealed that she was raped first by the conductor near Bakhtawarpur Village (Noida Sector 127-128). He then took the steering wheel as the driver forced himself on the girl. The distance travelled by the bus from the place of occurrence to the point where she was dropped at the bus stand in Kashmere Gate is around 26 km. Police found the bus had thick curtains installed, which made it impossible for people to see inside.The main focus of the drive was to remove these curtains from all private buses. They are a safety concern and will not be permitted, said officials. Sheer curtains can be used as a replacement.In Noida, police carried out checks at Pari Chowk, Mahamaya, Sector 37 and Surajpur. Over the three days, 76 challans were issued, 56 buses seized, Rs 20.4 lakh recovered in compounding fees and Rs 5.5 lakh in tax arrears.Noida ARTO Udit Narayan Pandey said some of the most common violations found were buses running on routes they did not have permits for and passenger buses carrying heavy commercial cargo.In Ghaziabad, checks were conducted near Mohan Nagar, Lal Kuan and other routes on NH-9 which several inter-city buses ply on. Around 59 vehicles were seized and challans were issued to 80 buses in the district, a transport official said, adding that Rs 13 lakh was recovered from the offenders in compounding fees.Ghaziabad ARTO Amit Rajan Rai said, “We are also penalising those vehicles found operating without fitness certificates, insurance and road tax arrears. Drivers without licences will also face action.”
