Pune: Dattatraya Gade contested elections, worked for politicians during polls too
Pune: The accused in the Swargate ST bus rape case, Dattatraya Gade, is a history-sheeter. Offences were registered against him at various police stations.
Gade is also affiliated to a political party. He hails from Gunat village in Shirur taluka. He visited his native village after committing the crime. Gade used to ferry passengers from Pune to Ahilyanagar.
On the pretext of offering to hitchhike old women, he would take them to isolated spots and rob them. He was arrested due to the alertness of one such woman. Offences were registered against him at the Shikrapur and Shirur police stations.
He owns a house built of tin sheets and a three-acre ancestral farm at Gunat. His parents are farmers. He is married, has a child and has a brother. He was jobless. He was in search of making a quick buck and started committing thefts, said local residents.
He took a loan in 2019 and purchased a four-wheeler, in which he used to ferry passengers from Pune to Ahilyanagar. Simultaneously, he started committing thefts. He would offer to hitchhike women wearing gold ornaments and would rob them at knifepoint.
Gade contested an election at the village level but was defeated. He would work for politicians during polls. His photos with some prominent politicians went viral on social media.
In 2020, he robbed some people at Kare Ghat and was sentenced in the dacoity case. Cases were registered against him at Shikrapur, Ahilyanagar, Supa, Kedgaon and Kotwali police stations.
