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Image showing protest against rape.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Mumbai: A 26-year-old woman was raped by a notorious history-sheeter inside a stationary bus in the State Transport (ST) depot in Swargate area of Pune in the wee hours of Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Datta Gade, had half a dozen cases of theft and chain snatching registered against him in Shikrapur and Shirur police stations of Pune district.
The Pune City police have launched a massive manhunt to track him down.
The Swargate complex comprises two bus stands run by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) and Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) - and is a busy hustling-busting area.
The bus depot is adjacent to a police post.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the state Home Minister, spoke to Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar, to have a first-hand assessment of the incident and ongoing investigations.
The incident took place around 0530 hrs when it was still dark, police said, adding the victim was to board the ST bus from Pune to Phaltan in Satara district - a distance of around 100 km.
The victim was waiting for a bus at one of the platforms when the man approached her and said the bus had arrived at another platform.
He then took her to an empty bus parked at a deserted spot on the sprawling station premises. It was still dark, and when she boarded the bus, he followed her inside and raped her before fleeing, the woman told police.
“Teams have been constituted to nab the accused,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Smartana Patil.
“The man approached her and said the bus had arrived at another platform. He then took her to an empty bus parked at a deserted spot on the bus depot and raped her,” she said.
“The girl works in Pune and was going to her hometown,” said Maharashtra State Commission for Women Chairperson Rupali Chakankar.
The police teams have collected forensic evidence from the crime scene and also secured the CCTV footage in which the suspect is visible.