The individual charged with raping a woman on a bus in Pune was apprehended by Crime Branch officers from a village in Shirur after more than 70 hours of thorough searching, the police reported on Friday.
Dattatray Ramdas Gade, the suspect, had been fleeing since the incident that occurred on Tuesday.
A 26-year-old woman was reportedly raped in a state transport bus stationed at Swargate bus stand at approximately 5:30 am. Gade deceived the woman, who was waiting for her bus, into an empty bus, claiming that the bus she was anticipating was located elsewhere.
He reportedly carried out the offense inside the parked bus at the city’s bustling bus stand, located almost 100 meters from a police station. He had been evading capture since that time.
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The occurrence incited anger and demonstrations throughout Pune, with the NCP and MNS organizing protests in response to the event. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis instructed the police to apprehend the suspects without delay.
The police had created at least 13 teams to apprehend Gade, 37, a resident of Gunat village and a known criminal. Under increasing pressure, the police escalated their search efforts, utilizing drones and dogs in Shirur taluka of Pune to locate him.
The police previously stated that a search was carried out in the sugarcane fields at Gunat, the accused’s hometown, as they believed he could be concealed there.
More than 100 police officers, including high-ranking officials, arrived in Gunat yesterday to conduct the operation, which also involved the deployment of drones for aerial field imaging. They also increased security at vital entry and exit points of Pune, as well as major bus stands and railway stations.
