PUNE: Pune Crime Branch has detained Dattatraya Ramdas Gade, accused of raping a 26-year-old woman inside a bus at Swargate bus station, from a village in Shirur Tehsil on Friday.Gade had been on the run since the incident on Tuesday, when the survivor, a working woman, was waiting for a bus to return home to Phaltan, about 100 km away. The accused allegedly approached her, falsely claiming that her bus was parked elsewhere, and led her to an MSRTC Shivshahi bus inside the depot, where he reportedly raped her.State Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik has ordered an immediate security audit of all bus stations and depots across Maharashtra. In a release issued on Thursday, he also directed the removal of all registered buses parked at depots and vehicles seized by transport offices by April 15.Considering the increasing number of female passengers, Sarnaik emphasised the need for more female security guards at bus stations. He also called for the appointment of an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer to the vacant post of Chief Security and Vigilance Officer in the State Transport Corporation. A specific timeframe has been set for removing unregistered buses from bus stand areas, with the process to be completed by April 15.
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