Suspect Sent to Police Custody Till Mar 12

Suspect was carrying insecticide bottle when people found him in Gunat village

- Shrinivas Deshpande

PUNE: The accused in the rape in bus case allegedly attempted suicide to evade arrest, police officials said.

Dattatray Ramdas Gade is accused of raping a 26-year-old woman hospital counsellor inside a parked Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus at Swargate depot on Tuesday.

Speaking to the media on Friday, Pune city police commissioner Amitesh Kumar said, "According to the primary medical report, a ligature mark was found on the neck of accused. It is suspected that he attempted suicide. We are waiting for the final report."

Police sources said that 37-year-old Gade tried to hang himself with a rope but it broke and villagers intervened.

After an extensive search operation that lasted three days, Pune city police arrested the accused from his native village Gunat in Shirur at around 1:10 am on Friday.

Smarthana Patil, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Zone 2, said Gade was brought to Pune by 2 am. He was sent for a medical examination, formally arrested and presented in Pune court.

A court on Friday sent the accused to police custody till March 12.

Professor Ganesh Gavhane of Gunat who played a key role in nabbing the accused claimed that he found the latter with Rogor insecticide bottle.

"During our search on Thursday night, we found Gade near a well located near a cricket ground in our village. As he began to run towards the village after seeing us, I kept the motorcycle headlight on to help chase him," Gavhane said. According to Gavhane, Gade on being caught pleaded with villagers to let him talk to his son and will surrender tomorrow.

"He had a bottle of insecticide in his hand which I quickly snatched from him and alerted the police who later took him into custody," he said.