‘I Asked Him What Time It Was’: Delhi Woman Recalls Moments Before Delhi Gangrape

Last Updated:May 15, 2026, 10:24 IST

Police identified the accused as Umesh Kumar and Ramendra Kumar, both in their late 30s and originally from Uttar Pradesh.

“I was standing at the bus stop when this private bus stopped. I asked a man standing inside about what time it was. He asked me to come inside the bus and speak to him. So, I boarded the bus," the 30-year-old woman from Delhi’s Pitampura, who was gangraped inside the moving bus by two men said a simple question at the Saraswati Vihar bus stop changed the course of her night.

According to the Hindustan Times, standing alone at the bus stand past midnight, the woman approached a private bus only to ask a man inside for the time. Minutes later, police said, she was allegedly gangraped inside the moving vehicle.

The police said that the woman said she had visited her brother’s house in Sultanpuri earlier in the day to help with shifting. While returning home late at night, she took an e-rickshaw that dropped her near Saraswati Vihar on the Outer Ring Road.

Also Read ‘Please Let Me Go, My Children Are Waiting’: What Delhi Gangrape Survivor Told Her Attackers

According to police, the bus began moving shortly after the woman boarded it. She alleged that one of the accused pushed her towards the rear of the vehicle and raped her while the bus was in motion.

The woman told police that she repeatedly pleaded with the accused to let her go. “I told them I won’t take any action against you. Please let me go. I have three children waiting for me at home," she said.

She further alleged that when the bus reached near Nangloi Railway Station, it was parked and the driver also raped her.

“When they reached near Nangloi Railway Station, they parked the bus and then the driver also raped me," she said.

After the alleged assault, the woman said she continued begging the men to release her. “I told them what’s done is done and I will not take any action against them. That’s why they let me go. I then called the police," she told HT.

Police identified the accused as Umesh Kumar and Ramendra Kumar, both in their late 30s and originally from Uttar Pradesh. Officials said the two have been arrested and sent to judicial custody.

Investigators said that by the time police arrived at the spot, Ramendra had allegedly fled along with two or three other men, while Umesh was still present there. Police immediately detained Umesh, and the woman, who was bleeding, was taken to a government hospital in Pitampura for medical examination.

Doctors reportedly advised her to get admitted, but she refused, saying, “I cannot because my husband is unwell and my daughters are waiting for me," she said. The woman lives with her husband and their three daughters, aged four, six and nine.

The case has also raised questions over the implementation of transport safety measures introduced after the 2012 Delhi gangrape case. In 2012, the Supreme Court banned the use of black films and other materials such as curtains or mesh on vehicle windows.

Later, in 2016, the Union road transport ministry made vehicle tracking devices and emergency buttons mandatory in all public service vehicles.

Police said both these features were missing from the bus involved in the case. Investigators also said the bus company had valid interstate operation permits for both accused.

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