Pune bus rape: Court remands accused Dattatray Gade to judicial custody until March 26

Pune court remands accused in Swargate bus depot rape case to judicial custody, pending further investigation.

A Sessions Court in Pune on Wednesday (March 12, 2025) remanded Dattatray Gade, the accused in the Pune’s Swargate bus depot rape case to a judicial custody till March 26, 2025. Gade is accused of allegedly raping a 26-year-old woman inside a parked Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus in the early hours of February 25, 2025.  

On Wednesday, the Crime Branch officials produced him before the court as he has completed 12-days police custody. The judicial custody was given after investigation officers submitted to the court that they were reserving the right to seek Gade’s further custody remand if and when required for further investigation. The court remanded Gade to 14 days in judicial custody.  

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The 37-year-old accused, Gade, who faces at least six criminal cases, was traced down in an agriculture field near his village Gunat in Shirur taluka of Pune district on February 28. Police had carried out an extensive three-day-long manhunt using drones and sniffer dogs. The investigation was transferred to the Crime Branch of Pune city police on March 2.

During the investigation, police learnt that the woman was waiting at Swargate bus depot to catch a Satara bus around 5.30 a.m. on February 25. Noticing her alone, he had allegedly misled her to the wrong bus claiming to be a bus conductor and after she had entered the bus, he had locked the bus from inside and raped her.  

Advocate Asim Sarode representing the victim, said the court has rejected the application filed by his client seeking a restraining order against the defamatory statements made against her in public and on social media. The matter is pending before Pune District Collector Jitendra Dudi.