1 week Ago By Asseem Shaikh
Pune: A court on Wednesday extended the magisterial custody of Dattatray Gade , arrested on the charge of repeated sexual assault on a 26-year-old health counsellor in a Shivshahi bus parked on the premises of Swargate bus terminus on Feb 25, till April 8. Gade (37), a resident of Gunat village in Shirur taluka, had been lodged in Yerawada Central Prison under magisterial custody. He was produced before the court via videoconferencing instead of physically, for security reasons, considering the gravity and sensitivity of the crime.
Judicial magistrate first class Amol Shinde inquired from Gade if he had any complaint of ill-treatment against the prison personnel, but he replied in the negative. Defence lawyer Wajid Khan Bidkar informed Gade via videoconferencing that he had earlier obtained permission from the court to meet him in person at the prison. This was to seek instructions relating to the rape case to enable him to prepare his defence for trial, Bidkar said.
The survivor's lawyer, Shreya Awale, said she would file a plea on the next date of hearing to seek documents like the first information report and the two remand reports filed by the city crime branch relating to Gade's arrest. Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar on Tuesday said investigators were awaiting the report of a DNA test conducted on Gade before they would file a chargesheet in court. Police have also sent a proposal to the state law and judiciary department for the appointment of a special public prosecutor to argue the case.
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