Pune: Dattatray Ramdas Gade, the man accused of raping a 26-year-old woman inside a bus at Pune's Swargate depot, was finally arrested in Maharashtra's Shirur during a midnight operation following a massive manhunt. Dattatray was hiding at a farm in Shirur and since Thursday, 13 teams of Pune Police had been searching for him. However, later at night on Thursday, he visited someone’s house for a meal, and that person immediately alerted the police, leading to his arrest. He was arrested by a team of Crime Branch from a village in Shirur of the district after over 75 hours of an extensive manhunt.
How he was arrested
DCP Smarthana Patil, Zone 2, Pune City Police, stated that the accused, Dattatray Ramdas Gade, has been formally arrested. After getting information about him, the police launched a massive search for Gade, deploying drones and 13 police teams comprising over 100 personnel across Pune district and beyond. The major breakthrough came when he arrived at the house of a relative at 10:30 pm on Thursday and his relatives, after learning of his arrival, alerted the police.
Before leaving the place, Gade took a bottle of water and reportedly admitted to his family that he has made a big mistake, and has to surrender.
How the incident unfolded?
The accused Dattatray Ramdas Gade was absconding since the incident happened on Tuesday, when the rape survivor, a working woman, was waiting for a bus to return home to Phaltan, which is located around 100 km away.
The accused allegedly approached her, falsely claiming that the bus to her destination was parked elsewhere. He led her to a MSRTC Shivsahi bus parked in the depot, where he allegedly raped her.
Meanwhile, State Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik has ordered an immediate security audit of all bus stands and depots across the state.
As per a release issued on Thursday, the minister has also instructed that all registered buses parked at bus stations and depots and vehicles seized by transport offices be removed by April 15.’
Considering the rising number of female passengers, Minister Sarnaik emphasised the need to increase the number of female security guards at bus stations.
Additionally, he directed that a specific timeframe be set for removing unregistered buses from bus stand areas, with the process to be completed by April 15. He also called for the appointment of an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer to the vacant post of Chief Security and Vigilance Officer in the State Transport Corporation.
Leaders and workers of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP-SCP on Thursday staged a protest against the rape incident at the Swargate bus depot in Pune, calling for strict action against the accused.The protesters demanded capital punishment for the rape accused and the safety of women.
Maharashtra's Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik also initiated a departmental inquiry against the Assistant Transport Superintendent and the Bus Depot Manager of the Swargate Bus Depot in Pune following the February 25 incident in which the 26-year-old woman was allegedly raped inside a parked bus.
(With inputs from agencies)
