Pune bus rape victim 'could have shouted for help': Accused Gade's lawyer says act was 'consensual'
Defense counsel for Dattatray Ramdas Gade in the Pune bus rape case argued that the victim could have sought help and claimed the act was consensual. Gade, previously charged with robbery, was arrested after evading police.
Defending Dattatray Ramdas Gade, the accused in the Pune bus rape case, his council said victim could have shouted if she wanted help. Meanwhile, his other defence council claim that the act was consensual.
“It was 5.45am in the morning (the time of the alleged incident). She could have shouted and sought help. Nothing was done forcefully," advocate Wajid Khan said while speaking news agency ANI.
Meanwhile, the second counsel advocate Sajid Shah said, “In defence of the accused, we have told the court that whatever happened, it happened following a consent between the two.”
About his previous crimes, defense counsel said, “The earlier cases on him were of robbery, not rape. The investigating officer said that he is a habitual offender but he was not convicted in any of the previous cases.”
Gade remanded 12 days police custudy
The accused Gade, who had been absconding since the incident on Tuesday, was detained by a team of the Pune Crime Branch from a village in Shirur Tehsil of the Pune district and was formally arrested on Friday. A Pune court on Friday remanded Dattatray Ramdas Gade, the accused in the Pune bus rape case, to 12 days of police custody till March 12.
The survivor, a working woman, was waiting for a bus to return home to Phaltan, about 100 km away when the accused approached her. Gade allegedly misled her by claiming that her bus was parked elsewhere and guided her to an MSRTC Shivsahi bus in the depot, where he then raped her.
Following the incident, the State Transport Minister, Pratap Sarnaik, has ordered an immediate security audit of all bus stands and depots across the state.
As per a release issued on Thursday, the minister has also instructed that all registered buses parked at bus stations and depots and vehicles seized by transport offices be removed by April 15.
Considering the rising number of female passengers, Minister Sarnaik emphasised the need to increase the number of female security guards at bus stations.
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