The police have set up eight special teams to track down Pune bus stand rape accused Dattatraya Gade, and have spoken to family members, including his brother.
Pune Police have announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to the arrest of Dattatraya Ramdas Gade – the man accused of raping a 27-year-old woman early Tuesday. She was raped inside a bus parked in the busy Swargate Bus Stand and 100 metres from a police station.
Gade, 36, has a prior criminal record; he is charged with at least six counts of theft, robbery, and chain-snatching in Pune and the neighbouring Ahilyanagar district.
He has also been out on bail since 2019, according to news agency PTI.
Gade has now been on the run for over 48 hours.
The police have set up 13 special teams, including eight from the Crime Branch, to track him down, and have spoken to family members, including his brother, and known associates as part of the manhunt.
Teams have been sent to railway stations and bus stands to catch Gade , Smartana Patil, Pune DCP (Zone II), said, who said identification had been delayed because he had worn a face mask.
The rape took place between 5.45 am and 6 am on Tuesday.
The young woman, a domestic, was waiting to board a bus to her hometown in Satara district when she was accosted by Gade, who, she told the cops, addressed her as ‘didi‘, or ‘sister’.
She said Gade inquired after her destination and persuaded her that a bus parked in one corner of the busy depot would take her there. CCTV footage showed the two walking to that bus.
Outside the bus – which had no lights on – the woman said she hesitated but was told that was because other passengers on board were asleep. She was encouraged to enter the bus.
She told the cops Gade jumped in after her, locked the door, and raped her. After the assault Gade slunk away and the woman told a friend, who convinced her to file a police report.
The police said they had equally immediately filed a complaint and accessed the CCTV footage, which jumpstarted their investigation, which will include inquiries into how and why the bus depot management allowed this to happen in their premises and on their bus.
The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation – under fire for poor security – has replaced guards at the depot and announced an inquiry of its own, with a report to be filed in a week.
The MSRTC is one of the three public transport bodies in the country, with a fleet of more than 14,000 buses. Every day, more than 55 lakh passengers travel on its buses
Meanwhile, the horrific incident has triggered a predictable political row, with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance gunning for the ruling Mahayuti combine.
The state’s Congress unit chief, Harshwardhan Sapkal, slammed the BJP-led government in the state for focusing on ‘freebies’ for women at the cost of their safety, and Supriya Sule, from the Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction, hit out at the BJP not being able to ensure women’s safety.
The Maharashtra government has vowed to ensure justice for the woman, with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar calling the incident “extremely unfortunate, distressing, infuriating”.
“The crime committed by the accused in this case is unforgivable, and there can be no punishment other than hanging. I have personally instructed the Pune Police Commissioner to take a hands-on approach in investigating this matter…” the NCP leader said.
“Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has also taken this crime seriously and has given necessary instructions to the police. The accused will be arrested at the earliest by the police, and for ensuring that he receives the harshest punishment under the law…”
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