Pune bus rape case: What we know about the arrested accused

Dattatraya Ramdas Gade, a history-sheeter out on bail since 2019, allegedly raped a 26-year-old woman inside a stationary state transport bus at Pune’s busy Swargate bus station on Tuesday morning.

According to the woman, as she was waiting for a bus for Phaltan in adjoining Satara district at one of the platforms at around 5.45 am, a man approached and engaged her in conversation, calling her 'didi' (sister), 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 sprawling 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 was hiding in a paddy field in his native Shirur tehsil, was apprehended after being on the run since Tuesday. The Pune police had deployed drones and a dog squad in Gunat village to nab the accused, and 13 teams were part of the search operation.

According to a Swargate police station official, as quoted by news agency PTI, Gade, 36, has been involved in multiple criminal cases, including theft, robbery, and chain-snatching, in Pune and the neighbouring Ahilyanagar district.

He had been out on bail since 2019 in connection with one of these offences, the official added.

In 2024, a theft case was registered against Gade in Pune, and the police summoned him for questioning.

According to a report in NDTV, Swargate bus stop in Pune was Gade's usual haunt as he was often spotted there in a shirt, sports shoes and a mask. He also posed as a policeman around the bus stand for several months.  

The accused is married and has children. He also has a brother and his parents are farm labourers.

Accused had 'political links'

Meanwhile, photographs of the accused alongside political leaders from Shirur constituency went viral earlier.

In one image, Gade was seen with a group of men, including MLA Mauli Katke of the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) from Shirur constituency, as reported by the Indian Express.

Gade’s picture also appeared on a banner offering birthday wishes to former MLA Ashok Pawar of the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction). However, both Katke and Pawar denied any connection with Gade.

Ambadas Danve, the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, raised questions regarding the political affiliations of the accused.

“I will not name anybody now, but I have information that the local MLA of the ruling party had taken many people to Ujjain, and the accused was responsible for this work. So there is a question of whether the accused was working for a political party,” Danve was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.

According to the publication, Gade allegedly robbed gold ornaments from female passengers at knifepoint after purchasing a four-wheeler on loan. He reportedly used the car to transport passengers from Pune to Ahmednagar.