Pune: The Judicial Magistrate First Sessions Court(JMFC), Pune for the second time, has rejected the application filed by the Pune’s Crime Branch’s plea seeking just one day of police custody for Dattatray Gade (37), the accused in the alleged Swargate rape case, stating that it is not required.
In their application, the police stated that they had recovered new evidence in the case, which they wanted to confront the accused with. However, the court was convinced by the defense’s arguments, which stated that the police had already exhausted 12 days of police custody for the accused and that there was a possibility of the police allegedly planting new evidence against him.
This was the second time the police had approached the court with a plea for “one day of police custody.” Advocate Wajed Khan, appearing as Gade’s defense lawyer, spoke about the first application, saying, “Two days ago, when I was present before the court, the police had sought the same request. However, after hearing the plea, the court did not even ask for my response and rejected the application outright.
“Today, the police once again approached the court with a similar request. I was not available in court at the time, but I was called urgently, and the court asked me to file a reply.”
The application stated that the Pune police had recovered new evidence against the accused and, therefore, wanted one day of police custody to confront him with it. However, advocate Khan opposed the request.
“The most vital evidence in a rape case is the recovery of the accused’s and the victim’s clothes, as well as medical evidence, which can be obtained within three days. However, the police have already exhausted the full 12-day police custody period for this.
“Their move to seek one more day of custody raised suspicions. One cannot rule out the possibility of evidence being allegedly planted against him, especially since the police are under immense pressure. His photo has been circulated on several social networking sites, where he has already been portrayed as the culprit.
“Hence, we opposed the one-day police custody application, and the court accepted our argument, rejecting the police’s request,” advocate Khan said.
According to police reports, the 26-year-old victim was waiting for a bus to Phaltan at Swargate Bus Station around 5:45 a.m. on February 25. Gade had allegedly approached her, falsely claiming that the bus to Satara was at another platform. He then allegedly led her to an empty Shiv Shahi AC bus, convincing her to board despite her hesitation. Once inside, he allegedly locked the bus and raped her before fleeing the scene.
