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Maharashtra Congress President Harshvardhan Sapkal criticised CM Devendra Fadnavis, blaming him for the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, following the alleged rape of a 26-year-old woman at Pune's Swargate bus depot, and accused him of prioritising the defence of corrupt officials over ensuring women's safety.
Speaking to ANI, Sapkal said, "For some time now, incidents of exploitation of women are being reported continuously in Maharashtra...The law and order situation in Maharashtra collapsed after Devendra Fadnavis became the Home Minister...We are with the victim and our demand that culprits should be given the harshest punishment..." During a Congress press conference, he further stated, "It is very disturbing that a young woman was raped at Swargate bus station in Pune on a bus in the state. The Home Minister is busy only defending corrupt officials and the question of the safety of women in the state has once again come to the fore. The rape of Pune has been hanged on the gates of law and order in the state." He also accused the government of doing "politics in the name of Ladki Bahin." Referring to a recent case in Mumbai, Sapkal alleged that the government attempted to shield the accused. "Maharashtra was shaken by the incident of sexual abuse of school girls in Mumbai, but the government tried to save the accused in the case by encountering the accused. The Chief Minister of the state, who speaks on all the issues, consciously keeps silent on important issues. Maharashtra has again been shaken by the incident of rape in Pune. A young woman was raped three years ago in Delhi. After that, there was a big mass movement. The incident in Pune is equally serious. Sapkal said that women are not safe in the state because the government is unique." Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Police have confirmed that the accused has been identified and that efforts are underway to arrest him. The incident occurred on Monday morning when the victim, a working woman, was waiting for a bus to return home, according to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 2) Smarthana Patil. The accused allegedly misled her by claiming the bus to her destination was parked elsewhere. He then took her to a parked bus, where he allegedly committed the crime. Zone 2 DCP Smarthana Patil said, "A working woman was waiting for the bus to go back to her home...A man came and said that the bus to your place had been parked somewhere else and took the woman near the parked bus...Then, the man raped the woman..." "A complaint has been registered...We have identified the accused, and we are making all the efforts to nab him. The accused is identified as Dattatray Ramdas Gade. The victim is stable right now...," she added. (ANI)
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