Pune Police offer Rs 1 lakh reward for info on absconding rape accused

Pune Police on Thursday announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to the arrest of a history-sheeter who allegedly raped a 26-year-old woman inside a state transport bus at the Swargate bus station here, officials said.

As many as 13 police teams are working to track down accused Dattatray Ramdas Gade (37) who is on the run since the incident which took place on early Tuesday morning, an official said. A reward of Rs 1 lakh will be given to a person providing information about his whereabouts, Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar told PTI. Another police official said that information about Gade can be provided at numbers 020-24442769 or 9881670659.

The informer's name will be kept secret, he added.

Gade has half a dozen cases of theft, robbery and chain-snatching registered against him in Pune and adjoining Ahilyanagar district, and was out on bail since 2019 in one of the offences.

Swargate in Pune city is one of the largest bus depots of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC).

According to the survivor woman, as she was waiting for a bus for Phaltan in Satara district at one of the platforms around 5.45 am on Tuesday, 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, the woman, who works in the medical field, told police. The shocking incident in the heart of the city caused an uproar, with Opposition lambasting the BJP-led Maharashtra government over women's safety.