A Pune court on Wednesday remanded Dattatray Gade, the accused in the Swargate bus rape case, to judicial custody till March 26.
The accused had allegedly raped a 26-year-old woman inside a stationary Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus at the Swargate bus depot in the early hours of February 25.
Gade was produced in court after completing his 12-day police custody in the afternoon.
According to the police, the victim was waiting for a bus at the Swargate bus stand to go to her native place in Satara district in the early morning of February 25 when Gade approached her.
Gade told her the bus for Satara had arrived at another platform. He took her to an empty Shiv Shahi AC bus parked elsewhere on the station premises. As the lights inside the bus were not on, she hesitated to get in at first, but the man convinced her that it was the right vehicle. He then followed her inside and raped her before fleeing.
Gade, who faces half a dozen criminal cases, was tracked down in an agriculture field near his native Gunat village in Shirur taluka with the help of drones and sniffer dogs.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday announced the suspension of four officials of MSRTC, including a senior manager, for showing negligence in the rape incident.
Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik made the announcement during the ongoing budget session of the state assembly.
In a statement, Sarnaik said a probe had been ordered after the rape to ascertain whether there was any negligence on behalf of officials of the corporation.
After receiving the probe report on Tuesday, senior depot manager Jayesh Patil, junior depot manager Pallavi Patil, assistant transport inspector Sunil Yele and assistant transport superintendent Mohini Dhage were suspended for negligence, he told the house.
The minister warned of similar action if there was any dereliction of duty with regards to passenger safety at MSRTC facilities.
He said 22 security guards who were on duty when the incident occurred were immediately replaced.
