Mumbai, February 27- Pune Police on Thursday announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information on a history sheeter who allegedly raped a 26-year-old woman in a bus parked at the Swargate bus stand here. An official said that 13 police teams are working to trace the accused Dattatreya Ramdas Gade (37).
Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar told PTI that a reward of Rs 1 lakh will be given to anyone providing information about his whereabouts. He said Gade has half a dozen cases of theft, dacoity and snatching of money registered against him in Pune and adjoining Ahilyanagar district, and he was out on bail in one of the crimes since 2019.
According to the victim, while she was waiting for a bus at a platform around 5.45 am on Tuesday, a man approached her and started a conversation by calling her didi (sister) and said that the bus to Satara had arrived at another platform. He took her to an empty ‘Shivshahi’ AC bus that was parked elsewhere in the station.
She said she was initially hesitant to get in as there were no lights inside the bus, but the man convinced her that it was the right vehicle. The woman, who works in the medical field, told police that he then followed her inside the bus and raped her before fleeing.
The shocking incident in the city has created an uproar, with the opposition criticising the BJP-led Maharashtra government over women’s safety.