After an investigation that involved conventional policing, technical data analysis and information gathering via social media, Pune Rural Police has arrested a 50-year-old man for allegedly inflicting grievous injuries on the eyes of a 37-year-old woman after she resisted his molestation attempts. The incident had taken place between 9 and 9.30 pm on November 3 in a village in Shirur taluka of Pune district, around 65 km from Pune City. The woman later lost vision in both eyes. During the probe, a team received a tip-off that a man who had recently started working at a roadside eatery in the same village had shaved off his beard and hair before disappearing from the area. The description prior to the disappearance matched with the details given by the victim. Further probing the lead, police got CCTV footage of the suspect from the area and gathered information about the behaviour of the suspect. Initial investigation revealed that the suspect, identified as Kundalik Bagade, is very short-tempered and has had quarrels with many people in the area. He had also been pretending to be speech-impaired and had asked people for money from time to time. Further tracing the movement of the suspect, police found that he was present in Shrigonda Parner area of neighbouring Ahmednagar district. Investigation teams subsequently broadcast information about the suspect on hundreds of WhatsApp groups from the villages in the area to further trace his movement and possible places of hiding. Finally, on Monday, a team from Shikrapur police station zeroed in on Bagade and nabbed him from Chakan Chowk in Shikrapur on Monday evening. Police probe has now revealed that on the night of November 3, when the woman had stepped out of her house, Bagade had stopped to urinate few metres away. When the woman objected, Bagade tried to molest her and when she resisted, he allegedly inflicted injuries in her eyes with a sharp weapon. Investigation teams comprised not just the officials and staff from the Local Crime Branch and local Shirur police station, but also from other police stations like Bhigwan, Baramati, Shikrapur, Yawat and Daund.
