Pune: The man accused of raping a 26-year-old woman inside a bus at Pune’s Swargate depot has been arrested in Maharashtra’s Shirur following a massive manhunt, cops said on Friday.
The accused, Dattatray Ramdas Gade (37), was hiding at a farm in Shirur, reports claimed. At least 13 teams of Pune Police had been searching for him since Thursday. According to reports, he visited someone’s house for a meal, and that person immediately alerted the cops. This led to his arrest.
Gade allegedly raped the woman while she was waiting for a bus to Satara district around 5.45 am on Tuesday. He misled her by saying that the bus for Satara had arrived at another platform and convinced her to follow him.
He then took her to an empty AC bus parked at the bus terminal and raped her inside it.
The incident triggered a widespread outrage, with people across society, demanding strict action and justice.
Gade, a resident of Gunat village in Pune, has a criminal history. He has been named in half a dozen cases of theft, robbery, and chain-snatching in Pune and Ahilyanagar districts. He had been out on bail since 2019. Earlier, cops had announced a reward of Rs1 lakh for anyone providing information about his whereabouts. A hotline number was also released for tip-offs regarding his whereabouts.
Swargate in Pune is one of the largest bus depots of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC).
