Dattatraya Ramdas Gade, the man allegedly responsible for the rape of a 26-year-old woman in Pune, is a history sheeter, who was out on bail, the police have said. A manhunt is on in the city since the young woman reported the rape earlier today. The police have pressed in eight teams and sniffer dogs. 

Gade has at least six cases of theft, robbery and chain-snatching registered against him in Pune and adjoining Ahilyanagar district. Arrested for a robbery, he has been out on bail snice 2019, reported news agency Press Trust of India quoting un-named officials. 

Cases were registered against him in Shikrapur and Shirur police station limits in Pune district. He also faces cases in Ahilyanagar district. As late as last year, a theft case was lodged against him in Pune.

A Pune police team has already questioned his brother to know his whereabouts.

The rape took place at Swargate bus stand, one of the busiest in the city. Today, when Gade tricked the woman into the empty bus, locked its door and assaulted her, there have been people around, the police had said. 

The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Smartana Patil, has told reporters that CCTV footage showed the woman walking towards the bus with the accused. In fact, the police identified him from the footage. There were many people and several buses on the station premises when the incident took place, she said. 

The woman had been waiting for a bus for Phaltan in Satara district around 5.45 am. The accused, according to MSRTC officials, had taken her to the empty bus claiming to be its conductor. When she pointed out the bus was empty, he said it had people inside who were sleeping.

After the assault, the woman took a bus for her hometown and narrated the incident to her friend on phone while on way, the police said. On her friend’s advice, she got off the bus and went to the police to report the matter.

The MSRTC is one of the three public transport bodies in the country, with a fleet of more than 14,000 buses. Every day, more than 55 lakh passengers travel by its buses.

(With Agencies)