Dattatray Ramdas Gade, the accused in the Pune bus rape case, had the complainant's consent for a physical relationship and she boarded the bus wilfully, his lawyer told a court on Friday before he was remanded to police custody. The police were given Gade in custody for 12 days until March 12 by a Pune court, media reports said.
Pune: Advocate Sajid Shah, defending Dattatray Gade in Pune rape case, argued in court that the incident was consensual, as the victim willingly boarded the bus with no signs of struggle pic.twitter.com/0rYiz009yr
— IANS (@ians_india) February 28, 2025
Advocate Sajid Shah, who appeared for Dattatray Ramdas Gade at the Pune court, reportedly maintained that the incident occurred "with consent." "The accused has been sent to police custody till March 12. In defence of the accused, we have told the court that whatever happened, it happened following a consent between the two," advocate Sajid Shah was heard saying in a viral video shared by news agency PTI.
The lawyer also claimed that his client was facing a media trial and claimed the complainant herself went inside the bus. "A physical relationship was established (between them) with mutual consent," he was quoted as telling the court by the news agency.
VIDEO | Pune rape incident: "The accused has been sent to police custody till March 12. In defence of the accused, we have told the court that whatever happened, it happened following a consent between the two," says advocate Sajid Shah after accused Ramdas Gade was sent to… pic.twitter.com/utYKyQPEUm
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 28, 2025
Gade was formally arrested and produced before the Pune Sessions Court amid heavy police security. The police wanted Gade in custody for 14 days as they told the court the accused engaged the 26-year-old victim in conversation at the Swargate terminus on Tuesday morning, calling her 'didi' (sister) and took her to an empty 'Shiv Shahi' bus parked in the depot premises and raped her.
Gade is a history-sheeter who faces half a dozen criminal cases in Pune and Ahilyanagar districts. At least five of these cases were filed against him by women complainants, the police found out. He was clearly seen in the CCTV footage of the bus terminus on the day of the incident, according to the police. The data of the mobile phone he was using was yet to be recovered, they told the court.
