Woman raped in Pune bus: Chargesheet of 893 pages submitted in court against accused

After the incident, the accused fled from the spot. The victim later boarded another bus for her hometown. On reaching Hadapsar, she spoke with her friend over the phone who insisted she approach the police. She then lodged the FIR in this case at the Swargate police station.

Following a rigorous search operation involving villagers, a dog squad and drones, the police arrested Gade at Gunat village in Shirur on February 28. Police booked him under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita sections 64, 64 (2) M, 351(2), 115(2), 127(2).

As per the court’s order, the accused was remanded to police custody till April 12. Later, he was lodged in Yerwada jail under judicial custody. Police said evidence was gathered against the accused with the help of medical and cyber experts, a sound engineer, chemical analyst and photographer.

Meanwhile, on March 5, the investigation of the case was transferred to the crime branch. A press release issued Thursday stated that the panchnama included test identification parade, voice verification, search history and CCTV footage. Besides this , statements of as many as 82 persons were recorded. Statements of five witnesses in this case were recorded before the court as per section 183 of Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

Police said the accused in the past was booked in seven criminal cases, including two lodged at Shikrapur police station, two at Shirur police station in Pune rural, and one each at Swargate police station in Pune, Kotwali and Supa police stations in Ahilyanagari district. Along with senior inspector Sankhe, senior inspector Yuvraj Nandre, sub inspector Poonam Patil, were part of the investigating team.

While is it not mentioned in the FIR, in the victim’s letter to the law and judiciary department of Maharashtra government, she stated that the accused tried to rape her for a third time, but she was able to fight him off.

“Thinking about that various rape incidents (in the past) where in the victims were killed for resisting the accused, I prioritised on saving my life. But many people reacted insensitively while knowing about the atrocity (rape) that was committed against my will,” stated the victim, in this letter dated March 20, 2025, seeking appointment of advocate Asim Sarode as a special public prosecutor (SPP) in this case.