The accused Dattatraya Ramdas Gade
Credit: Special Arrangement
Mumbai: Notching success after a three-day-long cat and mouse game, the police pounced on the fugitive rape accused Dattatraya Gade as he stepped out from the sugarcane fields to quench his thirst following a couple of failed suicide attempts in the Gunat village in Shirur tehsil of Pune district.
The operation saw a mix of human and technical intelligence with the use of traditional and modern methods including a dog squad to thermal imaging cameras mounted on drones.
The investigating team would also probe whether the suspect was involved in other similar incidents earlier.
Gade, a 36-year-old history sheeter allegedly raped the 26-year-old victim between 0530 - 0600 hrs on Tuesday in a stationary Shiv Shahi bus in the Swargate bus depot of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC). The accused was arrested in Gunat at 0115 hrs past midnight on Friday.
“More than 500 police officers and personnel were involved in the operation. We also received help from 400 to 500 villagers,” Pune Police chief Amitesh Kumar told reporters.
Asked about the attempt by the accused to end his life, he said, “According to the primary medical report, ligature marks were found on the neck of the accused. He claims that he attempted suicide, however, failed…we are waiting for the final report…all these are matters of investigation.”
According to the Pune police Commissioner, the accused was identified within a couple of hours of the incident and even while the FIR was being drafted, the police had started cordoning the village. “We had CCTV from 23 cameras of the Swargate complex and 48 from the vicinity,” he said, adding that the villagers too helped a lot. “They used their motorcycles (for patrol),” he said.
Kumar pointed out that the successful operation was a mix of discreet information and technical intelligence. “We deployed the dog squad (at the bus depot and the Gunat village) to pick up tracks of the accused. We deployed drones mounted with thermal imaging cameras,” he said.
On the road ahead, he said, “Our investigation is at a primary stage…a special counsel will be appointed, and we will try to fast-track the case... We believe that we will succeed in preventing such cases in the future, and we are working in this regard. I thank the people of Gunat on behalf of Pune police. I will visit the village to honour the villagers who helped us,” he said.
"The accused had come to this person to drink water. Due to the information given by him, the police were able to progress in the investigation of the case,” he said about the arrest.
Kumar also said that the police also conducted a security and safety audit of the bus depot and said, “We have analysed points such as security, doors of buses, dark spots and more. We will discuss these with the state transport department, and a formal action will be implemented soon,” he said, adding: “We have analysed points such as security, doors of buses, dark spots among other things. Necessary steps are being taken.”