"Such People Should Be Hanged": Eknath Shinde On Pune Bus Rapist

Reacting strongly to the rape of a 27-year-old woman in a bus in Pune, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said that no one will be spared and people who commit such crimes should be hanged. 

The woman, who works as a a domestic help, was raped at the busy Swargate Bus Stand, which is just 100 metres from a police station between 5.45 am and 6 am on Tuesday. Police have said the suspect is 36-year-old Dattatraya Ramdas Gade who has been accused of theft, robbery and chain-snatching incidents in the past and has been out on bail since 2019. 

Asked about the rape, Mr Shinde, who is also the president of the Shiv Sena, said on Thursday, “The Pune accident is very unfortunate. Whoever the accused is, no matter which party he belongs to, he will not be spared. Such people should be hanged. The damaged bus in the depot should be auctioned soon.”

The Maharashtra government has been under fire from the opposition over the rape in one of the state’s biggest cities, which is also an education and IT hub. Members of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction staged a protest outside the Swargate police station on Thursday and the Congress has accused the Maharashtra government of putting more emphasis on freebies for women than ensuring their safety.

“When the Nirbhaya gangrape incident took place in Delhi, people changed the regime. You (BJP-led Maharashtra government) promote ‘Laadki Bahin’ scheme for women, but ignore basic issues of the people,” Maharashtra Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal said.