A history-sheeter out on bail since 2019 allegedly raped a 26-year-old woman inside a stationary state transport bus at the busy Swargate bus station in Pune city, police said on Wednesday.
As the shocking incident in the heart of the city caused an uproar and triggered a protest by the opposition Shiv Sena (UBT), police formed multiple teams to track down the accused, Dattatraya Ramdas Gade (36).
While the opposition targeted the Home Department held by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the crime which took place on early Tuesday morning, the government ordered that all private security guards at the bus station be replaced.
A separate departmental inquiry has also been ordered by the transport ministry.
Gade has half a dozen cases of theft, robbery and chain-snatching registered against him in Pune and adjoining Ahilyanagar district, said a Swargate police station official, adding he was out on bail since 2019 in one of the offences.
Swargate in Pune city is one of the largest bus depots of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC).
According to the woman, as she was waiting for a bus for Phaltan in adjoining Satara district at one of the platforms at around 5.45 am, a man approached and engaged her in conversation, calling her 'didi' (sister), and said the bus for Satara had arrived at another platform.
He took her to an empty 'Shivshahi' AC bus parked elsewhere on the sprawling station premises. As the lights inside the bus were not on, she hesitated to get in at first, but the man convinced her that it was the right vehicle. He then followed her inside and raped her before fleeing, the woman, who works in the private medical field, told police.
The accused also threatened the victim and asked her not to reveal about the crime to anyone, according to police.
As per a MSRTC report on the incident, the bus, in which the woman passenger raped, arrived at Swargate bus stand from Solapur on February 25 at around 3.40 am, and it was parked in front of a sugarcane juice shop in the premises.
According to the report, the accused posed as the conductor of the bus and took the woman inside the vehicle. Swargate bus station authorities learnt about the rape incident only at 10 am, four hours after the crime.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Smartana Patil told reporters that CCTV footage showed the woman walking towards the bus with the accused.
There were many people and several buses on the station premises when the incident took place, she said. The woman did not approach police immediately after the incident, but took another bus for her hometown, and narrated the incident to her friend on phone while travelling, the DCP said.
On her friend's advice, she got down within the city limits, and went to the police station, Patil said.
Cases were registered in the past against accused Gade in Shikrapur and Shirur police station limits in Pune district, the DCP said, adding police have formed eight teams to nab him.
He also faces cases in Ahilyanagar district.
During investigation, it came to light that he was released on bail in a robbery case in 2019, another official told PTI.
In 2024, a theft case was lodged in Pune against Gade who was summoned to the police station, the official said.
A Pune police team on Wednesday questioned a brother of the accused , he said.
Police are examining CCTV footage of the Swargate bus station and nearby areas, and seeking technical assistance for clues and to track down the accused, the official said.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said he has directed the Pune police commissioner to investigate the case and swiftly arrest the accused.
In a statement, Pawar, who is the guardian minister of Pune district, said the incident is "painful, infuriating, and shameful", and the accused deserves death penalty.
"The incident of rape at the Swargate bus station is extremely unfortunate, painful, infuriating and shameful to all in civilized society. The crime committed by the accused is unforgivable and there can be no other punishment for him than death. I have directed the Pune police commissioner to personally look into this matter and investigate it and arrest the accused immediately," he said.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo motu cognizance of the incident and demanded immediate action in the matter. NCW chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar has written to the Director General of Police and asked him to submit to the commission an action taken report within three days along with an FIR copy, an official said.
State Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik directed that all 23 private security guards employed at the bus station be replaced.
He also instructed MSRTC managing director Vivek Bhimanwar to conduct a departmental inquiry and submit a report in seven days, an official statement said.
As the incident triggered an outrage, local Shiv Sena-UBT workers staged a protest at the Swargate station during which the security office on the premises was vandalised.
NCP-SP leader and Baramati Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule lashed out at the BJP-led Mahayuti government.
There is a police post nearby, and still such an assault takes place which shows that anti-social elements do not have any fear of law, she said, adding the home department had failed to curb crime in Pune.
State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal claimed that incidents of rape were on rise in the state.
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