Salem: Two drivers and a conductor on Monday night allegedly raped a 15-year-old girl in a bus in Salem. The trio was arrested on Tuesday, said the police.
The three men had stopped their private bus at a village and raped her. When some locals in the village heard the cries of the girl, they alerted the police, HT reported.
The teenager had a quarrel with her parents and was seen in Salem. She later boarded a local bus to a village in the afternoon and was travelling to and fro in the same bus till late night, police informed.
Manivannan and Murugan, who usually take turns to drive the bus, meanwhile conductor Perumal calmed the girl and befriended her. Post which the three men allegedly raped the girl at night.
A senior police official said the three were arrested and were being questioned.
“A total of nine sections including those from the IPC, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, have been invoked against the accused,” he told.
The girl was then taken to a hospital and produced before the Child Welfare Committee. Senior district officials visited her and held enquiries, he added.