Pune police arrested the accused in a rape case at the Swargate bus stand within 70 hours. Thirteen police teams were formed to apprehend the history-sheeter, Dattatray Ramdas Gade.
Pune: Pune police arrested the accused in a rape case at the Swargate bus stand within 70 hours. Thirteen police teams were deployed to catch history-sheeter Dattatray Ramdas Gade. With the help of sniffer dogs and drones, police apprehended him from sugarcane fields in Gunat village, Shirur tehsil, Pune.
Clue from CCTV Footage
The accused was identified through CCTV cameras installed at the Swargate bus stand. The footage showed the accused taking the victim to a deserted area near a parked bus. Based on this, police launched an investigation and a special operation to arrest the accused. According to police, on the morning of February 25, the accused raped a 26-year-old woman on a state transport bus at Swargate, Pune's busiest bus stand.
After committing the crime, he hid in a vegetable truck and reached his village, Gunat. There, he changed his clothes and shoes before fleeing. Police suspected he might be hiding in the sugarcane fields near the village.
Search Operation with Drones and Sniffer Dogs
On Thursday afternoon, police launched a large-scale search operation in Gunat village. More than 100 police personnel, aided by drones and sniffer dogs, located and arrested him hiding in the sugarcane fields. Police had announced a reward of one lakh rupees for information leading to the arrest. Interrogation revealed the accused had a history of harassing women and was involved in incidents like chain snatching.
Crime Committed Through Deception
According to the victim, she was waiting for a bus to Phaltan when Gade engaged her in conversation. He gained her trust by calling her "Didi" (sister) and claimed the Satara bus was parked elsewhere. Under this pretext, he took her to an empty air-conditioned bus and committed the rape. Police investigations revealed the accused had a history of harassing women. A woman close to him is also being questioned.
