Pune rape case updates: Maharashtra minister makes surprise visit to bus stop, finds no cop

Pune rape case updates: The accused, Dattatray Ramdas Gade (37), is named in half a dozen cases of theft, robbery and chain-snatching in Pune and Ahilyanagar district, reports PTI. He has been out on bail since 2019 in one of the offences.

On Pune bus rape case, chairperson of National Commission for Women (NCW), Vijaya Kishore Rahatkar said, "We condemn this incident. National Commission for Women has taken suo-moto cognizance of this case. We have written to Maharashtra DGP to investigate the case with promptness and submit a report to NCW. We have also asked him to provide security to the victim and put the accused behind bars. We have asked for the case to be heard in a fast-track court..."

(via ANI)

Maharashtra minister Sanjay Shirsat made a surprise visit to the bus station in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Thursday and said he did not find any policemen there.

Shirsat, who is also the guardian minister of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, said his visit was against the backdrop of the Pune incident wherein a history-sheeter raped a 26-year-old woman on an MSRTC bus at the busy Swargate bus station.

“It is my duty to check the situation in my city. I found that there were no policemen here. They don’t even have any space to sit. This is a chowki and at least two cops should be deployed here,” he said.

The Shiv Sena leader said he would speak to the city’s police commissioner about the matter.

“This place looks like a storage space. It seems the police and state transport administration have not become serious yet. There are CCTV cameras here, but we don’t know whether they are working,” he said.

(via PTI)

Pune bus rape case updates: The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) , which is among the largest in the country, does not have a chief security and vigilance officer for almost three years, reports PTI.

After the retirement of CVSO MK Bhosale, a DIG rank officer, on June 30, 2022, the post was transferred to the Pimpri Chinchwad commissionerate as joint commissioner.

Pune bus rape case updates: A search operation is being conducted in the sugarcane fields at Gunat village as there is suspicion that the accused is hiding there, PTI reported, citing an unidentified official.

Pune bus rape case updates: The Pune Police has deployed deployed drones and dogs in Shirur taluka of Pune district to trace the accused in the rape case, reports ANI.

A search operation is being conducted in the sugarcane fields at Gunat village as there was suspicion that the accused was hiding there, an official said.

Pune bus rape case updates: NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule has pointed out that the depot chief had previously alerted the police about security concerns at the site.

She urged Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the home ministry portfolio, to immediately review the law and order situation in Pune. She asked him to “take strict measures regarding women's safety as well as safety of the bus station”. Read more

Pune bus rape case updates: According to a police official, information about Dattatraya Ramdas Gade can be provided at numbers 020-24442769 or 9881670659. The informer's name will be kept secret, the official told PTI.

Pune bus rape case updates: Former chief justice DY Chandrachud on Pune bus rape incident tells PTI: “A lot of changes were made in the laws following the 'Nirbhaya' incident, however, we can not prevent such incident by only having laws. There is a great responsibility on the society and apart from this the implementation of laws should be there. Laws made for women should be implemented properly.”

He adds: "Women should feel safe wherever they go. It is important that in such cases, there should be proper investigation, strong action, quick trial and punishment. The legal system and the police have a big responsibility."

Pune bus rape case updates: Maharashtra MoS home Yogesh Kadam blamed private security guards at the Swargate MSRTC bus depot for the incident.

‘The security guards at Swargate MSRTC bus terminal are provided by a private agency through the corporation and the depot manager should have been more alert,’ Kadam said, according to ANI

Pune bus rape case updates: The pune police have sent the bus for forensic investigation.

"We have sent the bus for forensic investigation. Our teams have been working day and night since the incident happened," Smartana Patil, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), zone II, Pune, was quoted as saying by ANI.

Pune bus rape case updates: According to the police, the accused led the woman towards the bus. After she noticed darkness inside, he assured her that passengers were asleep and asked her to use her mobile torch to check inside.

Trusting him, she boarded the bus, after which he allegedly shut the door, sexually assaulted her and fled the scene.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has compared the rape of a woman inside a parked state transport bus in Pune to the 2012 Delhi gangrape incident and targeted district guardian minister Ajit Pawar over the law and order situation, reports ANI. He also alleged that crime against women have “increased drastically” in Maharashtra.

Pune bus rape case updates: The Pune city police have released a poster of the wanted accused, urging the public to come forward with information. They are also offering a reward of ₹1 lakh.

The poster also mentions that a case under section 64, 351(2) of 2023 has been registered against the accused, according to ANI

Pune bus rape case updates: Smartana Patil, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), xone II, Pune said that the accused was wearing a mask during the attack.

"The problem is that the accused had a mask on when the incident happened, and his face wasn't easily recognizable. But our team worked hard to recognize the accused, and we have other pieces of evidence against him," DCP Patil is quoted as saying by ANI.

Pune bus rape case updates: The Pune Police have announced a ₹1 lakh cash reward to nab the accused, who has been identified as Dattatray Ramdas Gade.

Pune bus rape case updates: Maharashtra Assembly's Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar has strongly criticised Fadnavis-led government's handling of law and order situation in the state, reports ANI.

“There is no law and order left in Maharashtra. People have lost faith in the police department and the home department,” he says.

Pune bus rape case updates: On the incident, Eknath Shinde assures that the accused will be arrested soon.

"What happened in really unfortunate and condemnable. The CM (Devendra Fadnavis) is constantly monitoring the situation. (Deputy CM) Ajit Pawar is also taking follow-ups and the accused will soon be arrested," Shinde is quoted as saying by PTI.

Pune bus rape case updates: "The culprit in this case will not be spared, be it whoever he is. Strict action will be taken against him..." Maharashtra deputy CM Eknath Shinde says, according to ANI.

Pune bus rape case updates: Maharashtra MoS Home, Yogesh Ramdas Kadam, said during a press conference that misinformation is being spread that the investigation into the alleged rape of a 26-year-old woman in a stationary state bus at the Swargate depot started late.

He dismissed such information and said that there is "nothing like that", asserting that the accused will be arrested very soon.

Pune bus rape case updates: In light of the recent case of the alleged rape of a 26-year-old woman inside a parked state transport bus at the Swargate bus depot in Maharashtra's Pune, NCP(SP) leader Supriya Sule flagged that the depot chief had already written to police authorities about the security situation there.

She urged chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the home ministry portfolio, to immediately review the law and order situation in Pune. She asked him to "take strict measures regarding women's safety as well as safety of the bus station".

Pune bus rape case updates: State minister for home Yogesh Ramdas Kadam said that the accused in this case is not being seen as any political figure but only as an accused.

"He will be treated as an accused; the police do not care if he is connected to any political person, and this will not affect the actions that we are going to take," he added.

Pune bus rape case updates: Minister of state for Home Yogesh Ramdas Kadam noted how in majority of rape cases, the accused is a known or someone who is contact with the victim, "it is unusual that an unknown person is the accused here".

"There have been amendments in laws after the BNSS came into action. The findings of the Shakti Criminal Laws that were passed in Maharashtra has also been included in BNSS," Kadam said while addressing a press conference.

Pune bus rape case updates: Former chief justice of India DY Chandrachud, reacted to the alleged rape of a 26-year-old bus in a parked bus in Pune, and said that even though a lot of changes were made in the laws after the 'Nirbhaya' incident, "such incidents cannot be prevented by only having laws".

"There is a great responsibility on the society and apart from this the implementation of laws should be there. Laws made for women should be implemented properly. Women should feel safe wherever they go. It is important that in such cases, there should be proper investigation, strong action, quick trial and punishment. The legal system and the police have a big responsibility," Chandrachud told news agency PTI.

Pune bus rape case updates: Maharashtra minister of state for Home, Yogesh Ramdas Kadam, addressed a press conference on Thursday and said that the police have taken enough action in the investigation into the alleged rape of a 26-year-old woman inside a stationary state bus at the Swargate bus depot.

"The incident happened inside the bus stand and security is provided by ST Mahamandal. The depo manager should have been more alert," he said.