Pune's Judicial Magistrate First Class Court on Friday remanded accused Dattatray Ramdas Gade to 12-day police custody. He was apprehended by Pune Police around midnight in Shirur tehsil. Gade was absconding since the incident happened on Tuesday, when the rape survivor, a working woman, was waiting for a bus to return home to Phaltan, which is located around 100 km away.
“He (Dattatray Ramdas Gade) has been sent to 12-day police custody. The earlier cases on him were of robbery, not rape. The Investigating Officer said that he is a habitual offender but he was not convicted in any of the previous cases. It was 5.45 am the morning (the time of the alleged incident); she could have shouted and sought help. Nothing was done forcefully,” Advocate Wajid Khan told ANI.
The police submitted a remand application to the court and sought Gade's custody for 14 days. The police said that the accused is clearly seen in the CCTV footage of the bus terminus on the day of the incident.
They told the court the accused engaged the 26-year-old victim in conversation at the Swargate terminus on Tuesday morning, calling her 'didi' (sister) and took her to an empty 'Shiv Shahi' bus parked in the depot premises and raped her.
Gade's advocate alleged media trial
During the hearing, Dattatray Ramdas Gade's advocate Wajid Khan said that his client was facing a media trial and claimed the complainant herself went inside the bus. "A physical relationship was established (between them) with mutual consent," Khan told the court.
Maharashtra CM on Pune rape case accused arrest
Pune rape case accused was nabbed from a paddy field following an extensive search operation carried out with the help of drones and sniffer dogs around midnight on Thursday. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said police used different technologies to nab him.
"The accused was in hiding. The police tracked him using different technologies. The (Pune) police commissioner has shared some details. It is not appropriate to share any further details. It will reach you (the media) at the right stage,” Fadnavis told reporters.
(PTI inputs)