The Pune police arrested Dattatray Ramdas Gade, the 37-year-old man accused of raping a woman inside a bus in Pune’s Swargate bus station, on Friday with a ligature marks on neck, suggesting that accused may have tried to die by suicide, as per officials.
Talking to reporters, Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar said, “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.”
After a massive manhunt where police released posters, announces Rs 1 lakh bounty and even used the drones and deployed over 100 personnel, finally the police found him in a paddy field.
A senior police officer stated, “Gade was brought to Pune by 2 am. He was sent for a medical examination and formally arrested. The accused will be produced in court later in the day.”
How police tracked accused?
Gade, who has previous criminal records, had escaped to Shirur after allegedly assaulting a 26-year-old woman inside a state transport bus at Swargate bus station early Tuesday. Despite switching off his mobile phone, police traced him to his village after he requested water from a local residence.
On Thursday, Pune police mobilised drones and canine units in Gunat village, with 13 teams participating in the search operation. Joint Commissioner Ranjan Kumar Sharma supervised the operation personally.
“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,” an official reported.
After receiving information from the family, police resumed their search and apprehended the suspect hiding in a nearby paddy field.
The commissioner expressed gratitude to Gunat village residents for their assistance and announced plans for a special investigation unit and fast-track court proceedings.
‘Security and safety audit of the Swargate bus depot completed’
Kumar confirmed completion of the Swargate bus depot’s security audit, stating, “We have analysed points such as security, doors of buses, dark spots and more. We will discuss these with the state transport department, and a formal action will be implemented soon.”
Gade’s criminal history includes multiple theft, robbery and chain-snatching cases in Pune and Ahilyanagar districts. He had been released on bail since 2019 for a previous offence.