Pune bus rape accused Dattatraya Gade arrested, say police

On Friday, the Pune Police apprehended the suspect accused of raping a 26-year-old woman in a parked bus at Swargate bus station. “DCP Smarthana Patil from Zone 2 of Pune City Police informed ANI that accused Dattatray Ramdas Gade has been officially detained.”

Gade is implicated in several instances of theft, robbery, and chain-snatching in Pune and Ahilyanagar districts. Swargate in Pune is among the largest bus terminals of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC).

He has been free on bail since 2019 for one of the charges. On Thursday, the Pune Police used drones and a dog squad in Shirur tehsil to capture Gade, who reportedly raped the woman inside a Shiv Shahi bus of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) at the Swargate bus station in Pune two days prior.

At least 13 police squads were created to apprehend Gade, who lives in Gunat village in Pune.

Officials stated that Pune City and Pune Rural Police commenced a search operation in Gunat village, which involved drones and dog units in the sugarcane fields. Over 100 police officers arrived in the village, they claimed. As stated by the survivor, she was at one of the platforms around 5:45 am on Tuesday, waiting for a bus to Phaltan in the Satara district, when Gade struck up a conversation with her, addressing her as ‘didi’ (sister), and informed her that the bus for Satara had come to another platform.

He led her to an unoccupied ‘Shiv Shahi’ AC bus stationed in a different area of the premises. Since the bus’s interior lights were off, she was uncertain about boarding, but the man assured her it was the appropriate one. Gade subsequently followed her and sexually assaulted her, the woman, employed in the medical profession, informed the police.