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Pune rape case accused attempted suicide before his arrest.
The man suspected of raping a 26-year-old woman inside a government-operated bus station at a depot in Pune allegedly tried to kill himself before being arrested after an intensive search, said the Pune police Friday.
The suspect, identified as Dattatraya Ramdas Gade, 37, a resident of the Gunat village in Shirur, was arrested around 1.10 am on Friday, and later put under arrest after his medical examination was conducted at the Sassoon Hospital.
Amitesh Kumar, Commissioner, Pune City police, said they found ligature marks on the suspect, and preliminary interrogation suggests he attempted to kill himself. However, he said they will have to verify Gade’s claim. Kumar said a special team has been formed for an in-depth investigation of the case. “We are developing a watertight case against the accused. A special public prosecutor will be appointed,” he said. Kumar also said the case will be tried before a fast-track court.
Kumar told media persons that Gade was arrested from Gunat with the help of about 500 villagers. “The villager who shared the last crucial information about the accused will be given a reward of Rs 1 lakh. I will go to Gunat, and felicitate all those who supported us in the search operation,” he said.
The Pune police commissioner said after they got to know about the crime committed early Tuesday, an analysis of footage captured by 23 closed-circuit television cameras inside the bus depot, and 48 CCTV cameras at other locations revealed the identity of the suspect. According to the police, Gade went home after committing the crime.
Teams from the Pune city and Pune Rural police scoured the area around the Gunat village, searched nearby sugarcane fields, and deployed drones with thermal imaging facilities, and a dog squad to track the suspect. As he knew the police were searching for him, he fled from his house and was hiding in the sugarcane farms in the village.
A villager spotted the accused when he came to meet his relative in the village to ask for water at around 10.30 pm on Thursday. The villager then passed on the information to the police, after which sniffer dogs and drones were pressed into service. The police said the dogs provided crucial clues, and accordingly the search was intensified at specific locations during the night.
At around 1:10 am, the villagers spotted Gade near Canal Road, after which he was caught and then brought to the area police station for further investigation. The Pune police commissioner said Gade did not want to surrender.
As per police records, in the past, Gade was booked in three robbery cases with the Pune rural police, of which two are lodged at Shikrapur police station and one at Shirur police station. Also, he was booked in two cases with the Ahilyanagar district police, including one at Kotwali police station and another at the Supa police station. Also, there was one mobile theft case against Gade at Swargate police station, which was registered in January 2024.
Now, a seventh case has been registered against him at the same Swargate police station for allegedly raping a woman in the ‘Shivshahi bus’ around 5.30 pm on February 25. Police said Gade was currently out on bail. He was residing with his family, including his wife, young son, brother, and parents, in Gunat village.