Pune: Swargate Rape Accused Will Be Caught Soon, Says Maharashtra MoS Home Yogesh Kadam

Reported By Varad Bhatkhande
Pune, 27th February 2025: A 26-year-old woman was raped inside a parked Shivshahi bus at Pune’s Swargate bus depot on February 25th. The accused, Dattatraya Ramdas Gade (36), misled the victim who was waiting for a bus to Phaltan, leading her to an empty bus where he assaulted her. Police have launched a manhunt, offering a Rs 1 lakh reward for information leading to Gade’s arrest.

Maharashtra Minister of State for Home (Urban) Yogesh Kadam, in a press conference, assured, “The accused will be caught soon. We have his probable location.” Kadam emphasized, “This crime is not related to his background. An accused is an accused, a criminal is a criminal. We don’t see caste or religion.”

The incident has sparked protests from various political parties and local organizations, including the Nationalist Congress Sharadchandra Pawar Party (NCP-SP) and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), against the government’s failure to prevent such incidents.

“Beed, Swargate Cases Not a Failure of Home Department”

Addressing concerns about the Home Department’s effectiveness, Kadam stated, “I won’t say this is a failure of the Home Department. The Swargate incident accused will be caught in the next few hours.” He added, “He is well-groomed and doesn’t seem like a criminal. When he is caught, his full modus operandi will be known.”

“Crimes by Strangers Are Rare”

Kadam highlighted a broader issue: “In major rape cases’ the accused are known or acquaintances. Rarely do unknown people rape victims. As a government, we are trying to stop all these rapes from unknown people. Awareness needs to be spread to stop sexual assault incidents from known people.”

13 Teams Searching for the Accused: DCP Smartana Patil

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 2) Smartana Patil said, “Thirteen teams are searching for the accused. We are investigating every village, bus stand, and railway station. We are following up on all leads. CP Amitesh Kumar has announced a Rs 1 lakh reward for anyone who helps. The suspect has 4-5 previous offences on record. He has no bodily offences against him; he is a property offender.”