'Police Tracked Pune Rape Case Accused Using Different Technologies': Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai: The man accused of raping a woman inside a parked state transport bus at Swargate terminus in Pune city four days ago was tracked and nabbed by police using different technologies, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Friday.

Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio, did not confirm reports that the accused, Dattatray Ramdas Gade (37), tried to commit suicide after the brutal incident on Tuesday morning.

"The accused was in hiding. The police tracked him using different technologies. The (Pune) police commissioner has shared some details. It is not appropriate to share any further details. It will reach you (the media) at the right stage," Fadnavis told reporters.

Gade, accused of raping a 26-year-old woman inside a stationary state-run MSRTC bus at Swargate, was arrested by the police around midnight on Thursday. The police used drones and sniffer dogs to track him down as he was hiding in a paddy field in his native Shirur tehsil.

Asked whether Gade, who faces multiple criminal cases, tried to commit suicide after the incident, the CM noted it was too early to say anything on the issue.

When asked about Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray's critical comments, aimed at Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, that taking a dip in the Ganga will not wash away the "sin" of betraying Maharashtra, Fadnavis averred the opposition leader should introspect.

"If they (Sena-UBT) were original and these (the Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde) people were traitors, then did the people of Maharashtra vote for traitors (in 2024 assembly polls)? "The people of Maharashtra put their seal (on Shinde-led Sena) as the real Shiv Sena (in polls), and you are calling them traitors? You should see yourself in the mirror," the BJP leader asserted.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)