NDC DESK
Mumbai
A 26-year-old woman was raped inside a stationary Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus at the busy Swargate bus stand. Pune police have launched a manhunt for the accused, Datta Gade, a known criminal with prior cases of theft and chain-snatching.
It was 5:30 AM at Pune’s Swargate bus stand. The woman was waiting to board a bus home when a man approached her, claiming her bus had arrived at another platform. Trusting him, she followed.He led her to an empty MSRTC bus parked in a dark, isolated corner. As she stepped inside, he followed. Then, in the silence of the early morning, he raped her and fled. Shaken and alone, she somehow gathered herself, boarded another bus, and reached her hometown, where she called a friend. With their support, she reported the crime.
Speaking to New Delhi Chronicle, Former MLC and Shiv Sena spokesperson Krishna Hegde said, “It is a horrific and disturbing incident. The culprit has been identified and will be nabbed shortly, and justice will be served.”
The accused, Datta Gade, is no stranger to crime. A history-sheeter with at least eight cases of theft and chain-snatching, he has looted, he has snatched chains, and now, he has raped. Yet, he was still free to roam. The police have now formed teams to track him down.
But the real question is, why was he even out in the first place? A man with a long criminal past, lurking in public spaces, preying on unsuspecting women. How many more must suffer before repeat offenders are stopped.