26-year-old woman raped inside MSRTC bus at Pune depot, hunt on for accused

Political parties and other outfits on Wednesday held protests at the bus depot with protesters vandalising the depot’s security cabin. A huge police force was deployed on the premises of the bus depot from Wednesday afternoon.

The incident took place sometime around 5.30 am on Tuesday, when the victim was waiting at the depot to catch a bus to her hometown in neighbouring Satara district. DCP (Zone 2) Smartana Patil, who is overseeing the manhunt for the accused, said: “The accused, who was loitering in the bus depot, approached her and asked, ‘Tai, kuthe challis tu? (Sister, where are you going?)’. She then told her where she was going. He told her that the bus for her hometown was parked at another location at the depot and would leave before other buses.”

“The woman countered him by saying that all buses to Satara district generally start from the spot where she was waiting. He told her that last night’s bus had got late and that’s why the bus at the other location would leave early. He told her that he would help her get onto the bus. She went along with him to the other bus and found that there were no lights inside, making her suspicious. He told her that some passengers might be sleeping and that could be the reason why the lights were off. He again insisted that she get in the bus… Once she was inside, he closed the door and allegedly raped her,” the DCP said.

Police said the bus in which the incident took place is a Shivshahi bus, a semi-luxury bus operated by the MSRTC on select routes. Since the bus is air-conditioned, its windows are permanently closed.

Police said the accused fled the spot after the incident. The woman managed to board another bus for her hometown. She had reached Hadapsar when she called a male friend and told him about the incident. He insisted that she approach the police. “She then came to the Swargate police station around 9 am and we registered an FIR. We started checking the CCTV footage and identified the accused,” Patil said.

Police said while checking CCTV footage, they found there were only a few people at the bus depot at the time. Asked if the victim raised alarm or called for help, Patil said: “It does not appear so at this stage of the probe. However, she did tell a passerby that a man had misbehaved with her.”

Police have identified the accused as a resident of Shirur area in his mid-30s and a criminal on police records. “He is a history-sheeter who has been booked in cases of robbery and theft in the past by Pune rural police. While the accused doesn’t have any known record of crimes against women, he has been booked in cases of chain-snatching and theft in the past,” said a senior police officer.

“A total of eight teams — both from the crime branch and the local police — are part of the elaborate manhunt. We also deployed the dog squad at the location as part of the probe. Our teams are searching various locations,” the DCP said.

One of the investigation teams reached the home and other last known locations of the accused. Police said they picked up some people who could have information on the accused and were questioning them.

Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said patrolling has been intensified in the area. Joint Commissioner of Police (law and order) Ranjan Kumar Sharma said: “Our teams have been regularly patrolling the area. However, we have now stepped up patrolling and overall police presence in the area. We will increase patrolling during the day and also fix a few areas where there will be increased surveillance and more police presence.”

Officials said some groups resorted to vandalism of depot property during protests. Police said a case has been registered for vandalism.