State Watch/ Delhi-NCR
SLEEPER BUSES IN DELHI-NCR
TEHELKA Bureau
On the night of August 4, amid heavy rain and darkness, a 16-year-old student mistakenly got off a bus at Pari Chowk in
Greater Noida. She had travelled from Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh, to Noida to meet her cousin. Lost on the way, alone and drenched in the rain, the girl stopped an empty sleeper bus passing nearby. The driver, Kuldeep, and conductor, Sandeep, told her that they were heading towards Noida Sector 63 and allowed her to board the bus.
According to the police, the situation changed as soon as the bus started moving. The girl alleged that the conductor initially made inappropriate advances, after which both accused allegedly gang-raped her and threatened to kill her when she resisted. The bus travelled around 47 kilometres before reaching the Kashmere Gate area of Delhi, where the girl was dropped off. Police arrested both accused from a bus parking area in Timarpur and seized the bus for forensic examination.
What Makes This Case Even More Serious
The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo motu cognisance of the case and sought an action-taken report from the Delhi Police Commissioner within a week. One detail in a letter from NCW Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar is particularly disturbing: according to reports, one of the accused had previously been arrested in 2024 in a similar case under the POCSO Act and was subsequently posted elsewhere. If this information is confirmed, the question goes beyond the two accused- it raises questions about the entire system of checks that does, or does not, require private bus operators to verify the backgrounds of their employees.
The NCW has also sought protection of the victim’s identity, immediate medical and psychological assistance, compensation, and action against the officials responsible.
The Question of Travelling Alone
The case brings back memories of the 2012 Nirbhaya case- the same Delhi, the same moving bus, the same fear of how unsafe travelling at night can be. But there is also a difference: stringent laws were enacted after 2012, and fast-track courts were established. Yet, NCRB data for 2024 show that more than 4.41 lakh crimes against women were registered that year, including around 29,500 cases of rape. In 96.8 per cent of these cases, the accused was known to the victim. In other words, public transport safety is only one part of the debate; it is not the entire picture.
But this case raises a new question as well: when a stranger extends a helping hand, how far can that trust be considered safe? Sleeper buses with curtained berths, long overnight journeys without adequate monitoring, and lax systems for verifying the identities and backgrounds of drivers and conductors- all these factors together create an environment in which the risks for women and minors travelling alone can multiply.
The Way Forward
The investigation is still underway, and the allegations remain allegations for now- they are yet to be proved in court. But the questions raised by the case will not wait for the investigation to conclude: who will ensure accountability for private bus operators? Why is background verification of employees not mandatory? And how did a person previously arrested under POCSO end up back behind the wheel?
The Nirbhaya case brought the country onto the streets. Thirteen years later, another moving bus, another minor and the same question remain: have we really learnt anything?
State Watch / Goa
GOA’S ANTI-CONVERSION BILL
The Law That Was Stopped By Opposition From Within
TEHELKA Bureau
On August 25, the BJP government in Goa took a decision that was unusual for the state. The Cabinet approved the ‘Goa Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2026’- a law that provided for punishment of up to life imprisonment for religious conversions carried out through force, inducement, fraud or marriage. Neither Hindu priests nor Muslim clerics were exempted from its ambit. If the conversion of a minor, woman, person with disability or a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe were established, the punishment would be even more severe- between five and 14 years in prison.
The plan was to introduce the Bill during the three-day Monsoon Session beginning August 31. Several states, including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh, have already enacted similar laws, and Goa appeared set to become the latest addition to the list. But something else happened.
The Opposition Came Not from Outside, but from Within
Church leaders and Catholic organisations in Goa strongly objected to the Bill. That was hardly surprising. But the real twist came when the BJP’s own legislators began opposing it. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had to meet two BJP MLAs from Calangute- Michael Lobo and Delilah Lobo- as well as Independent MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, who has supported the government. All of them openly said that the law could damage communal harmony in the state.
The result was that on Monday, the very day the session began, the government decided to remove the Bill from the Assembly’s agenda. There was no voting, no debate- the Bill was put on hold even before it could be introduced.
Why Is Goa Different?
It is important to understand that Goa is not like other states. The Christian population here is significantly higher than the national average, and centuries-old Hindu-Catholic coexistence is part of the state’s identity. This social fabric, shaped in part by Goa’s history under Portuguese rule, continues to influence its politics and forces even the BJP to adopt a different approach. That is why the party’s own MLAs did not hesitate to oppose the Bill.
The Church’s argument is also worth noting. The Council for Social Justice and Peace of the Archdiocese of Goa has made it clear that it too opposes conversions carried out through force, fraud or fear, but believes existing criminal laws are already sufficient to deal with such cases. According to the Council, a new law could provide an excuse to view the routine functioning of missionary institutions, schools and hospitals with suspicion.
Not Rejected, Only Deferred
According to government sources, the Bill has not been rejected outright- it has merely been put on hold for now. The Chief Minister assured the legislators that the matter would be discussed again, perhaps with some changes. In other words, the story is not over yet.
The Goa episode points to a larger question: laws that appear to be taking shape on a common framework across the country- can they be adapted to the distinct social fabric of individual states? For now, Goa has answered that question from within its own government- at least for the time being.
