Amid mounting pressure to nab Dattatraya Ramdas Gade (37), the accused in the rape case of a 26-year-old woman inside a Shiv Shahi bus of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) at Swargate bus depot, the Pune Police on Thursday deployed sniffer dogs and drones to track him in his village.
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In coordination with the Pune Rural Police, a search operation was conducted in the sugarcane fields at Gunat village in Shirur taluka, as there was suspicion that he was hiding there, an official said.
"Several senior police officials and more than 100 cops reached Gunat village in the afternoon. Police used drones for aerial imaging of the fields so that Gade could be tracked down. A dog squad was also called for the search operation in the village," he added.
Who is Dattatraya Ramdas Gade?
According to the officials, Gade has half a dozen theft, robbery and chain-snatching cases registered against him in Pune and adjoining Ahmednagar district.
"During the investigation, it has come to light that he was released on bail in a robbery case in 2019. In 2024, a theft case was lodged in Pune against him and he was summoned to the police station," they added.
Meanwhile, Pune City Police have released a poster of the wanted accused, 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 against accused named Dattatraya Ramdas Gade, age 37 years, Res. Gunat T. Shirur, Dist. Pune and he is a wanted accused in the registered crime. Information about accused Dattatraya Gade will be rewarded with Rs. 1,00,000/- (one lakh rupees). The name of the informant will be kept confidential."
The Pune Police have also expanded their efforts to apprehend the accused in the case, who has been on the run since Tuesday.
A total of 13 teams have been deployed to track down the suspect, with eight teams from the Crime Branch and five teams from Swargate Police Station working on the ground. Police teams have even been dispatched outside the district to intensify the search, officials said.
Smartana Patil, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Zone II, Pune, added, "We have sent the bus for forensic investigation. Our teams have been working day and night since the incident happened."
Know more about the incident
According to the police, a 26-year-old woman was waiting for a bus to Phaltan at one of the platforms at the Swargate bus station around 5.45am on Tuesday. The accused Dattatraya Ramdas Gade approached her and said 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.
