Pune, 7th October 2024: Pune Police has announced a reward of ₹10 lakh for anyone providing information about the accused involved in the recent gang rape at Bopdev Ghat. The identity of the informant will be kept confidential, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is being deployed to assist in tracking the suspects.

So far, police have gathered data from 3,000 mobile phones used in the Bopdev Ghat area during the relevant period and are scrutinizing CCTV footage. Joint Commissioner of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma confirmed that over 200 suspects have been interrogated. Additionally, the search for the accused has expanded beyond Pune to Solapur and other districts.

The brutal assault took place on 3rd October when a young woman, accompanied by her friend, visited the Bopdev Ghat area at night. The three attackers reportedly beat both the woman and her friend with a bamboo stick, threatening them with a Koyta (a sharp weapon). The perpetrators tied up the young man using a shirt and belt before sexually assaulting the woman. The Pune crime branch and the investigation team have been actively working on the case to identify the attackers.

In their efforts to trace the suspects, police have enlisted the help of sniffer dogs. The police dogs reportedly located the exact crime scene, where a bamboo stick covered in blood—believed to have been used by the attackers—was recovered. “Evidence samples and other materials have been sent to the forensic lab for examination,” Joint Commissioner Sharma stated.