The Pune bus rape case just one among the many rape cases that we see every day in the news, on social media and more unfortunately. The accused in this case, 36-year-old Dattatraya Ramdas Gade, has been arrested after a 75-hour long chase.
Pune top cop Amitesh Kumar said at a press conference, “We had been searching for the accused for the past three days. Around 500 police officers and personnel were involved in the search… We also received support from 400 to 500 local villagers. Our dog squad identified multiple spots, which helped us trace the accused. At 1.10 AM, we took him into custody.”
The Pune Police had launched a huge manhunt, including using drones to catch the accused and even announcing a Rs. 1 lakh reward. The thing that tipped off the police was reported to be the accused getting some water from a person who informed the police about his whereabouts.
Gade was on the run after raping a 26-year-old woman from the the medical field at the Swargate bus depot in Pune on Tuesday. He lured the woman to an empty government-run Shivshahi bus, claiming that her bus had arrived at another platform.
Even though the woman hesitated due to the bus being dark, Gade urged her that this was the correct vehicle and led her inside where he raped her.
However, in the midst of this, a photo of him on a political party poster and meeting politicians has gone viral.
The Accused’s Political Connections?
Soon after the Pune bus rape case broke, some photos went viral showing the accused with political leaders from the Shirur constituency in Pune district and a banner with his face on it.
Gade, who comes from the Gunat village in Shirur taluka of Pune district, is a history sheeter who had been out on bail for another crime. According to reports, he is married and has a son.
In the now viral photograph, Gade can be seen alongside several men taking a photo with MLA Mauli Katke of NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) from Shirur constituency.
According to an Indian Express report, there is another photo of him on a banner dated August 30, 2023, from the same constituency that offered birthday wishes to former MLA Ashok Pawar of the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction).
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However, both Katke and Pawar have denied any association with the accused. Katke clarified that, given he’s a representative of the people, he has taken photographs with many people, and urged that the accused should be hanged to death.
Pawar meanwhile said an investigation should be held to find who the accused was working for and claimed that during his Ujjain visit he took several people recommended by the local MLA of the ruling party.
Ambadas Danve, Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Council commented on the accused’s political connections: “I will not name anybody now…. But I have information that the local MLA of the ruling party had taken many people to Ujjain and the accused was responsible for this work. So there is a question whether the accused was working for a political party.”
Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam speaking with the media said “This crime has nothing to do with the background of the accused. An accused is just an accused in the eyes of the law. We cannot view him as being affiliated to any political or communal group. The accused must be brought to justice and that is the only aim with which the police are working.”
Reports have also revealed that the accused was involved in at least six criminal cases over the past five years, including crimes such as theft, robbery, and chain-snatching. Most of the cases were registered from areas in rural Pune, including Ahilyanagar, Shirur, and Shikrapur districts.
Reports also claim that in 2019 he bought a car on loan and would use it as a taxi on the Pune-Ahilyanagar route, picking up elderly women wearing heavy jewellery, taking them to a secluded area and robbing them at knifepoint. He would then run away with their belongings, leaving them stranded.
Although he was out on bail since 2019 in one of the offences, he was arrested in 2020 for a robbery for which he served five to six months in jail.
Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar further confirmed that Gade had been arrested in January 2024 from the Swargate terminus on charges of cellphone snatching.
Some reports also claim that the accused was seen at the bus station, introducing himself as a policeman.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: The Indian Express, NDTV, Hindustan Times
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This post is tagged under: Pune, Pune bus, Pune bus rape, Pune bus rape news, pune news, Pune bus rape case, Pune bus rape accused, pune msrtc bus rape
Disclaimer: We do not hold any right, or copyright over any of the images used, these have been taken from Google. In case of credits or removal, the owner may kindly mail us.
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