How A Request For Food And Water Led To Arrest Of Pune Bus Rape Accused

Pune police stated that they have discovered a ligature mark on his neck, raising suspicion that he might have attempted suicide.

Pune bus rape accused was arrested from Shirur after a 70-hour-long manhunt.

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Dattatray Ramdas Gade, the accused in the Pune bus rape case, was arrested on Friday in Shirur tehsil following an extensive search operation. He had been on the run after he allegedly raped a 26-year-old woman inside a parked bus at Swargate bus station in Pune early Tuesday morning. However, his escape ended due to his request for food and water from a house, which ultimately led the police to him.

How Was Gade Nabbed?

The 37-year-old history sheeter was apprehended from a paddy field at around 1:30 AM with the help of drones and sniffer dogs in Shirur tehsil, bringing an end to a 70-hour manhunt, launched since February 25.

Pune police stated that they have discovered a ligature mark on his neck, raising suspicion that he might have attempted suicide.

A senior police officer told news agency PTI that Gade was brought to Pune by 2:00 AM, following which he was sent for a medical examination and formally arrested. He will be produced in court later in the day today.  

Gade fled to his native place in Shirur after allegedly sexually assaulting the woman inside the state transport bus. He switched off his mobile phone, but the police traced his location to his village. Upon following him there, the police found out that the accused had visited a house requesting food and water.

On Thursday, Pune police deployed drones and a dog squad in Gunat village to arrest him. Around 13 teams were also formed as part of the search operation. Joint commissioner of police Ranjan Kumar Sharma also visited the village where he briefed his officers.

"The search operation in sugarcane fields with drones and dog squads was stopped at night. However, we received information that Gade had visited a house asking for food. We rushed to the spot, but he managed to flee. The family in the house gave him a bottle of water," the official told PTI.

Thereafter, the family tipped off the police about the accused's presence in the village, prompting the police team to resume their search.

The accused was then found hiding in a paddy field nearby and was arrested from there by the Pune police.

"According to the primary medical report, a ligature mark was found on the accused. It is suspected that he attempted suicide. We are waiting for the final report," PTI quoted Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar as saying. 

The senior official thanked the locals who helped the police in the search operation to nab the accused. "The accused will be produced in court today. A special unit will be formed to investigate the incident. We will try to take the case to a fast-track court, and a special councillor will be appointed," he said.

Meanwhile, the security and safety audit of the Swargate bus depot has been completed.

Kumar said that the security points, doors of buses, dark spots were analysed in the audit. "We will discuss these with the state transport department, and a formal action will be implemented soon," he said. 

Gade is said to have been named in half a dozen theft, chain-snatching, and robbery cases in Pune and Ahilyanagar districts in Maharashtra. He committed the crime while he was out on bail since 2019 in one of the offences.