Bengaluru, Nov 6 (DHNS): A 19-year-old woman employee of a private hospital was raped in a moving minibus by the driver, who asked the cleaner to take over the wheels, near Hosakote in Bengaluru Rural district on Thursday morning.

Barely a month ago, a BPO employee was raped in a moving Tempo Traveller in Madiwala in the City.

In a swift action, the police on Friday arrested the accused driver, Ravi (21), a native of Shivamogga, and cleaner Manjunath (24), of Chintamani in Chikkaballapur district. The victim, a resident of a village in Sulibele hobli of Hosakote taluk, was working as an office assistant in the private hospital in Hosakote.

Around 7 am on Thursday, the girl went to Hasighalla bus stand to board a bus to her work place. The minibus came along and stopped close to her and the crew informed that the vehicle headed towards Hosakote. The unsuspecting victim, not realising that the bus had no other passenger, boarded it. After travelling about a kilometre, the driver asked the cleaner to take over, said the police.

After travelling around four km, Ravi pounced on the victim and raped her. Later, the duo dropped the victim near Lokkandahalli Gate and sped away. The victim reported for work but did not reveal her ordeal to anyone.

By afternoon, she started feeling feverish and developed stomach and head ache. One of the doctors at the hospital noticed her uneasiness and questioned her. She narrated the incident to the doctor, who admitted her in the hospital and informed the police.

The police recorded the victim's statement and referred her for medical examination. The police then tracked down the accused on Friday morning and arrested him along with the cleaner near Hosakote bus stand. The minibus was seized. The duo had no house in Hosakote and used to sleep in the bus.

“It is learnt that the victim and the accused have seen each other earlier. But we will have to ascertain if they knew each other. We have traced the owner of the bus, Krishnappa. The bus was attached to a garment factory and in free time the driver used to transport passengers,” a police officer said. A case has been registered in Sulibele police station.