After being on the run for a few days, Dattatray Gade, accused of raping a 26-year-old woman inside a parked Shivshahi bus at Pune’s Swargate depot, was arrested on Friday.

He was arrested at around 1.30 a.m. at a sugarcane farm in Gunat village in Shirur taluka, where he was hiding.

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The police had deployed 13 teams comprising over 100 personnel and a dog squad for Gade’s look out who was missing since Tuesday after he raped the woman.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Nikhil Pingle led the team that nabbed Gade and later handed him over to Swargate police for further investigation. He will be produced in the court after 3 p.m. He is currently lodged in the Lashkar police station.

Police sources said a hectic search was launched to arrest Gade in his home village, Gunat. The villagers helped the police arrest Gade. Police personnel from the crime branch, drone cell, and dog squad from the surrounding districts were deployed. DCP Pingle said the villagers cooperated with the police during Gade’s search operation.

“Gade had gone to his relatives’ house in the same village around midnight to ask for water. After taking the bottle of water, he reportedly said he regretted what he had done. He had said that he wanted to surrender to the police and left the relatives’ house,” said the police sources. However, the police team got the tip about his movements, and later, he was arrested. Gade’s arrest has heaved a big relief for the Pune Police, who were under tremendous pressure amid strong criticism from opposition and various organisations.

Deputy Chief Minister and Pune District Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar had directed the Pune Police Commissioner to personally oversee the case and arrest the accused immediately. “The incident or rape of our sister at Pune’s Swargate bus stand is extremely shameful, painful and infuriating for every member of a civilised society. The crime committed by the accused is unforgivable, and there can be no punishment except the death penalty. CM Devendra Fadnavis has also taken a serious note of the incident and has given the necessary instructions to the police,” he said.

The National Commission for Women, after taking a serious note of the sexual assault on a 26-year-old woman inside the bus in Swargate bus depot in Pune, had asked the state police chief to submit a detailed investigation report. The Commission chairperson, Vijaya Rahatkar, in a letter to the state Director General of Police, Rashmi Shukla, had asked to submit an investigation report and also a copy of the complaint by the victim.

The police sources said the preliminary investigation carried so far by them revealed that Dattatray Ramdas Gade is a resident of Gunat village in Shirur taluka from the Pune district. He has three acres of ancestral land and a family house. His parents work in the field. He also has a brother, a wife and children.

Gade had no job as he was moving around in search of employment. The police sources said that he had indulged in robbery to earn money quickly. Besides, had engaged in the looting of villagers and was a history sheeter.

The accused had bought a four-wheeler in 2019 by raising a loan for transporting passengers from Pune to Ahilyanagar. During this time, he used to give lifts, especially to elderly women wearing jewellery, and rob them at knife point. Gade had contested the election in Gunat village for the post under the state government’s TantaMukti Abhiyan (dispute-free village campaign) but lost it.

The police sources said he was also engaged in election work during the recent Assembly polls. Gade had committed a robbery at Kare Ghat near Shirur village in 2020 and was charged with robbery and sentenced. He also has cases registered in Shikrapur, Supa, Kedgaon and Kotwali police stations in the Ahilyanagar district.