Bopdev Ghat gang rape: 20-year-old accused remanded to police custody for 3 days

The police have launched a search for two more accused wanted in the gang rape case. They are also from Madhya Pradesh and history sheeters currently residing in Pune. Meanwhile, the case investigation has been transferred to the crime branch of the Pune city police.

The police team produced the accused before the court on Sunday. Assistant public prosecutor Vijaysinh Jadhav said the police sought custody of the accused to recover weapons used in the crime and valuables robbed from the victims. The police said that the accused’s custody was required for his medical examination and DNA test. The police also wanted his custody to get information about the absconding accused.

The victim woman and her friend, both college students, not from Pune, had gone to the Bopdev Ghat area on a motorcycle on the night of October 3. The police said around 11 pm, three men came to the spot on their bikes and allegedly threatened them with sharp weapons and robbed their valuables. They said the accused tied the woman’s friend with his shirt and belt, dragged her to an isolated area and raped her.

An FIR in this case was lodged at the Kondhwa police station under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 70(1), 126 (2), 115 (2), 309( 6), 352, 351(2) 351 (3) and sections of the Indian Arms Act.

About 60 police teams comprising 700 personnel from the crime branch and police stations conducted a massive investigation. They used drones to map the Bopdev Ghat area and adjoining areas to identify all roads, small and minor lanes, from where the suspects may have escaped after the rape. Footage of CCTV cameras covering an area of about 70 km was gathered for analysis.

During the process, CCTVs at a petrol pump and a hotel provided clear images of the accused, who matched about 90 per cent with the sketch of two suspects prepared based on descriptions given by the victim

The police said all three were arrested in theft cases out of Pune in the past. After gathering details of previous criminal cases, the police discovered that all three accused did not return home after October 4. They found this suspicious, probed their phone call details, and gathered information from people they knew. Finally, the crime branch sleuths traced an accused at Undri around 4 am on Friday.