Pune Swargate Bus Rape Case: Photos of Dattatray Gade, the accused in the rape case inside a government bus in Pune, have surfaced with prominent political figures. Gade has six cases of theft and robbery registered against him. The police have arrested him.

Highlights:

Accused in the Pune bus rape case seen in viral photos with political leaders.

Dattatray Gade has six prior cases of theft and robbery.

Police have arrested the accused.


Pune Bus Rape Case: Accused Seen in Photos with Political Leaders

Pune: The Pune bus rape case has sparked controversy after photos of the accused, Dattatray Ramdas Gade (37), with prominent political figures surfaced. Gade, who is married and a father, already has six cases of theft and robbery registered against him. On Tuesday, he allegedly raped a 26-year-old woman inside a parked Shivshahi government bus at the Swargate bus depot. The police have arrested him.

In the viral photos, Gade can be seen with NCP MLA Mauli Katke and former MLA Ashok Pawar. Both leaders have denied having any close association with him. Katke stated that as a public representative, many people meet him and take pictures. He also said that the accused should be given the death penalty.

Pawar also denied any connections with the accused and demanded an investigation into who Gade was working for and details of his trip to Ujjain, where he allegedly took several people on the orders of a local MLA.

Opposition Raises Questions

Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, Ambadas Danve, questioned the accused’s political links. He stated, “I won’t name anyone yet, but I have information that a local MLA from the ruling party took several people to Ujjain, and the accused was responsible for this. This raises the question of whether he was working for a political party.”

When asked about the accused’s photos with politicians, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Yogesh Kadam, said, “The accused’s background has no relevance to this crime. In the eyes of the law, he is just an accused. We cannot view him as a member of any political or community group. The only objective of the police is to bring him to justice.”

Accused Previously Committed Robbery at Knife-Point

Police sources revealed that Gade, a native of a farmer’s family in Shirur, had purchased a four-wheeler on loan a few years ago and used to transport passengers from Pune to Ahmednagar. He had allegedly robbed female passengers at knife-point for their gold jewelry.