India, Feb. 26 -- Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday strongly condemned the rape of a woman in an MSRTC bus in Swargate, Pune and called for the death penalty to be awarded to the accused in the case.

The NCP leader wrote in a post on X, "The incident of the rape of one of our sisters at Swargate bus station in Pune is extremely unfortunate, painful, infuriating and shameful to all in civilized society. The crime committed by the accused in this crime is unforgivable and there can be no other punishment for him than death."

Pawar also stated that he had personally instructed the Pune police commissioner to investigate the matter and arrest the accused, identified as Dattatray Ramdas Gade, immediately. The accused ...