Bopdev Ghat gang rape: Cops nab 1 accused after scouring CCTVs; hunt on for two others

Police said the case was solved following meticulous analysis of hundreds of CCTV videos over the last one week and effective gathering of local intelligence about the accused persons. A senior police officer said the names of the accused cannot be shared till their test identification parade is conducted.

The 21-year-old 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. Around 11 pm, three men came to the spot on their bikes and allegedly threatened them with sharp weapons and robbed their valuables. Police said the accused men tied the woman’s friend with his shirt and belt, dragged the woman to an isolated area and raped her.

After the accused left the crime scene, the woman returned to her friend and released him. They then informed their friends and family about the incident, following which the victim woman and her friend went to a private hospital, the police said. However, as it was a medico-legal case, hospital authorities asked the couple to go to the government-run Sassoon General Hospital, where doctors informed the police.

An FIR in this case was lodged at Kondhwa police station. About 60 police teams comprising 700 cops from the crime branch and police stations carried out a massive investigation.

Accused matched with sketch

“The crime happened in the dark in a place having no cell phone range. There are no CCTV cameras nearby. So initially there was no clue at all. So we 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 on the basis of descriptions given by the victim,” said a police officer.

The break-through

Police said all three were arrested in theft cases out of Pune in the past. After gathering details of previous criminal cases, police discovered that all three accused did not return home after October 4. They found this suspicious, and probed their phone call details as well as gathered information from people they knew.

Finally, the crime branch sleuths traced an accused at Undri around 4 am on Friday. By afternoon the police confirmed his role in the rape. He was later arrested, while search was intensified for the other two, who are also from MP.

Police said the accused had consumed alcohol with friends before commiting the crime. After raping the woman, they went towards Khed Shivapur via Katraj, moving through internal streets and small lanes to prevent being captured by CCTV cameras on main roads. They also took several turns and changed their location frequently. The trio are good friends and moved together, but on October 4, they went separate ways after finding out that an FIR had been lodged.

Fadnavis directive

State Home Minister and DY CM Devendra Fadnavis lauded the police for their investigation and zeroing in on the suspects. He has asked them to identify black spots such as Bopdev Ghat and install CCTVs, night vision cameras and lights at these places to avert such incidents. Fadnavis said the state government has acquired advanced technology that will help the police in quicker identification of the accused seen in CCTV videos.