Raut likens Swargate rape incident to Nirbhaya case, says criminals in Pune have no fear of law

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday compared the rape of a woman inside a parked state transport bus in Pune to the 2012 Delhi gangrape incident, and targeted district guardian minister Ajit Pawar over the law and order situation.

The Rajya Sabha MP said crime against women had increased drastically in Maharashtra.

Elsewhere, deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the accused -- still on the run -- will not be spared.

Had there been a government of the opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi in the state, women leaders of the BJP would have created a hue and cry outside the state headquarters Mantralaya by now, Sanjay Raut told reporters.

A 26-year-old woman was allegedly raped inside a state transport bus at the Swargate bus station in Pune on Tuesday. The accused, a 37-year-old history-sheeter named Dattatray Ramdas Gade, is yet to be arrested.

"By giving Rs 1,500 every month, have you purchased women's self-respect?" asked Raut, referring to the BJP-led government's Ladki Bahin scheme of financial aid for women.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should seek answers from deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar who is also Pune's guardian minister, he said.

"It is like the Nirbhaya case of Delhi. Fortunately, the woman survived (in this case)," the Sena (UBT) MP said.

In 2012, a 23-year-old physiotherapy student who later came to be called `Nirbhaya' (a fearless one) was brutally gangraped in a bus in Delhi. She later succumbed to her wounds.

Raut further said that gangsters in Pune have no fear of law. The home department was being used for political purposes and to oppress political opponents, and "it would be a great favour to the state if the home department is used for the protection of "ladki bahin" (beloved sisters)", he added.

Speaking elsewhere, deputy CM Eknath Shinde termed the Pune incident "very unfortunate and condemnable".

"I have spoken to the Pune police commissioner and given him directions to arrest the accused immediately. Such people will not be spared, and the government will take efforts to ensure that they get the capital punishment," he added.

He has also spoken to transport minister Pratap Sarnaik and told him that scrapped buses in Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation's (MSRTC) depots should be auctioned off at the earliest, Shinde said.

"The transport minister sacked the security guards (at Swargate) after the incident. No one will be spared and strict action will be taken by the MSRTC," Shinde said.

Sarnaik belongs to Shinde's Shiv Sena.