The horrifying incident in which a four-year-old girl was kidnapped and sexually assaulted in an illegally parked luxury bus in Bhayandar in 2020 has failed to drill sense into the minds of the law enforcing agencies.
The incident which was reported in December-2020 had triggered a massive uproar amongst residents against the illegally parked privately own luxury buses on the road adjacent to the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Stadium in Bhayandar (west). Buses present in the illegal parking lot located near a sprawling slum cluster have turned into a safe haven for anti-social elements.
After keeping vigil for a brief period to ensure buses were not allowed to park on the road in an illegal manner, the same situation continues to prevail as dozens of buses can be seen lined up on the road. It has been alleged that buses owned by private transport agencies from across the state are conveniently transformed into safe havens for drunkards and junkies to consume alcohol and drugs-especially during the night hours, as the authorities turn a blind eye to the illegal parking and anti-social activities allegedly in exchange of bribes.
The gory incident of rape, kidnap and attempt to murder of the minor girl in 2020 stand as testimony to the accusations. The girl was playing in the parked bus with her friends. However, all other children except the girl had apparently alighted from the bus, indicating the involvement of the driver behind her mysterious disappearance.
The police arrested the driver who confessed to sexually assaulting the girl inside the bus and attempted to strangulate her. He squeezed the unconscious girl into a sack and dumped her at an isolated spot in the Vaaliv area of Vasai . The girl was fortunate to survive the attempts to kill her.
