NEW DELHI: Former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud drew parallels between an alleged rape case at Swargate depot in Maharashtra’s Pune and the “Nirbhaya” incident and said that a lot of changes were made in the laws but one can not prevent such incidents by only having laws.
The former CJI emphasised that societal responsibility plays a crucial role, alongside the proper enforcement of existing laws.
“A lot of changes were made in the laws following the ‘Nirbhaya’ incident, however, we cannot prevent such incident by only having laws. There is a great responsibility for the society and apart from this the implementation of laws should be there. Laws made for women should be implemented properly,” said the former CJI.
A young woman, aged 26, was reportedly sexually assaulted within a stationary bus at Pune’s Swargate bus depot during the early hours of February 25. The victim, who was employed, had been waiting to catch a bus to Phaltan.
The accused individual, Dattatray Ramdas Gade, made contact with her and deceived her by stating that her intended bus was stationed in a different location. He guided her to an unoccupied Shivshahi bus within the depot premises. Once she entered the vehicle, he followed her aboard and allegedly perpetrated the assault before departing from the location.
Amid mounting pressure from opposition, the police had launched an extensive search operation to apprehend the accused. A total of 13 teams, including eight from the Crime Branch and five from Swargate Police Station, are actively pursuing leads. Teams have also been dispatched outside the district.
“Women should feel safe wherever they go. It is important that in such cases, there should be proper investigation, strong action, quick trial and punishment. The legal system and the police have a big responsibility,” the CJI further added.
The police have also released a poster of the suspect, urging the public to come forward with information.
The poster mentions that a case under section 64, 351(2) of 2023 has been registered against the accused.
As per the poster, “A case has been registered under section 64, 351(2) of 2023 and the said case is accused named Dattatray Ramdas Gade, age 37 years, Res. Gunat T. Shirur, Distt. Pune and he is a wanted accused in the registered crime. Information about accused Dattatray Gade Rs. 1,00,000/- (one lakh rupees) will be awarded. The name of the informant will be kept confidential.”
