Pune | A history-sheeter out on bail since 2019 allegedly raped a 26-year-old woman inside a stationary state transport bus at the busy Swargate bus station in Pune city, police said on Wednesday.

As the shocking incident in the heart of the city caused an uproar and triggered a protest by the opposition Shiv Sena (UBT), police formed multiple teams to track down the accused, Dattatraya Ramdas Gade (36).

While the opposition targeted the Home Department held by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the crime which took place on early Tuesday morning, the government ordered that all private security guards at the bus station be replaced.

A separate departmental inquiry has also been ordered by the transport ministry.

Gade has half a dozen cases of theft, robbery and chain-snatching registered against him in Pune and adjoining Ahilyanagar district, said a Swargate police station official, adding he was out on bail since 2019 in one of the offences.

Swargate in Pune city is one of the largest bus depots of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC).

According to the woman, as she was waiting for a bus for Phaltan in adjoining Satara district at one of the platforms at around 5.45 am, a man approached and engaged her in conversation, calling her `didi' (sister), and said the bus for Satara had arrived at another platform.

He took her to an empty `Shiv Shahi' AC bus parked elsewhere on the sprawling station premises. As the lights inside the bus were not on, she hesitated to get in at first, but the man convinced her that it was the right vehicle. He then followed her inside and raped her before fleeing, the woman, who works in the private medical field, told police.

As per MSRTC officials, the accused told the woman that he was the conductor of the bus for Phaltan, and hence she trusted him and went with him, but the police did not confirm this detail.

As per a MSRTC report on the incident, the bus, in which the woman passenger raped, arrived at Swargate bus stand from Solapur on February 25 at around 3.40 am, and it was parked in front of a sugarcane juice shop in the premises.

According to the report, the accused posed as the conductor of the bus and took the woman inside the vehicle. Swargate bus station authorities learnt about the rape incident only at 10 am, four hours after the crime.

A MSRTC official said the AC bus where the crime took place operated on the Solapur-Swargate route without a conductor. After reaching Swargate, driver Shankar Chavan parked the bus in front of a sugarcane juice shop located next to the platform from where buses for Satara and Baramati in Pune district depart.

The bus was scheduled to depart for return journey within a few hours and hence, the driver parked it near the platform of the space-starved bus station, the official added.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Smartana Patil told reporters that CCTV footage showed the woman walking towards the bus with the accused.

There were many people and several buses on the station premises when the incident took place, she said. The woman did not approach police immediately after the incident, but took another bus for her hometown, and narrated the incident to her friend on phone while travelling, the DCP said.

On her friend's advice, she got down within the city limits, and went to the police station, Patil said.

Cases were registered in the past against accused Gade in Shikrapur and Shirur police station limits in Pune district, the DCP said, adding police have formed eight teams to nab him.

He also faces cases in Ahilyanagar district.

During investigation, it came to light that he was released on bail in a robbery case in 2019, another official told PTI.

In 2024, a theft case was lodged in Pune against Gade who was summoned to the police station, the official said.

A Pune police team on Wednesday questioned a brother of the accused , he said.

Police are examining CCTV footage of the Swargate bus station and nearby areas, and seeking technical assistance for clues and to track down the accused, the official said.

State Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik directed that all 23 private security guards employed at the bus station be replaced.

He also instructed MSRTC managing director Vivek Bhimanwar to conduct a departmental inquiry and submit a report in seven days, an official statement said.

As the incident triggered an outrage, local Shiv Sena (UBT) workers staged a protest at the Swargate station during which the security office on the premises was vandalised.

NCP (SP) leader and Baramati Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule lashed out at the BJP-led Mahayuti government.

There is a police post nearby, and still such an assault takes place which shows that anti-social elements do not have any fear of law, she said, adding the home department had failed to curb crime in Pune.

State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal claimed that incidents of rape were on rise in the state.

"When the Nirbhaya gangrape incident took place in Delhi, people changed the regime. You (BJP-led government) promote Laadki Bahin scheme for women (providing financial aid), but ignore basic issues of the people," he said.

The MSRTC is one of the biggest public transport bodies in the country, with a fleet of more than 14,000 buses. Every day, more than 55 lakh passengers travel by its buses.

Swargate is one of the three bus stations of MSRTC in Pune city and caters to destinations in all parts of Maharashtra. It also receives buses from adjoining states like Karnataka.