Dattatray Ramdas Gade, the accused in the Pune bus rape case, allegedly befriended the 26-year-old victim by addressing her as ‘didi’ (sister) before taking her to an empty Shiv Shahi bus at the Swargate depot, where he assaulted her, police told the court on Friday. The 37-year-old, who has a criminal history with six cases filed against him in Pune and Ahilyanagar districts, was identified in CCTV footage from the bus terminus on the day of the attack. Authorities also reported that data from the mobile phone he was using at the time is still pending recovery. Of the six cases registered against Gade, five involve complaints from women, according to the police.
A Pune court on Friday remanded Dattatray Ramdas Gade to police custody until March 12. Gade was apprehended in a paddy field after an intensive search operation, which involved drones and sniffer dogs, was conducted late Thursday night in Shirur tehsil, Pune district.
In addition to utilizing technology, 13 police teams were deployed in the search operation, but human intelligence ultimately led to the arrest of Dattatray Ramdas Gade, an official told PTI. Gade was formally arrested and presented before the Pune Sessions Court under heavy police security. The police filed a remand application, requesting his custody for 14 days.
“The search operation in the sugarcane fields using drones and dog squads was halted at night. However, we received a tip-off that Gade had visited a house asking for food. We immediately rushed to the location, but he managed to escape. The family at the house provided him with a bottle of water,” the official added.
According to the PTI report, advocate Wajid Khan, representing the accused, told the court that his client was facing a media trial and claimed that the complainant had voluntarily entered the bus. Khan further argued that a physical relationship was established between them with mutual consent.
