A 26-year-old woman was allegedly raped on Tuesday inside a public transport bus in Maharashtra’s Pune, The Indian Express reported. The case sparked protests from the Opposition, which accused the state government of failing to maintain law and order.

Around 5.30 am on Tuesday, the woman was waiting for a bus to Paithan town at Pune city’s Swargate bus stand. A man approached her and claimed that her bus had arrived on another platform, India Today reported.

The woman followed the man to an empty bus that was parked in an isolated spot in the premises. When she boarded the bus, the man allegedly followed her inside, raped her and then escaped.

The woman filed a complaint on Wednesday. The police identified the suspect as Dattatraya Gade, who has previous cases of theft and chain-snatching registered against him.

Gade was identified through security camera footage and police teams have been formed to find and arrest him.

After the case came to light, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Vasant More and his supporters vandalised the office of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation to protest the crime, The Indian Express reported.

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule said that the crime took place even though there is a police post nearby, and police personnel patrol the area. “The fact that the accused man still dared to commit such a heinous crime shows that criminals have no fear of the law,” she said.

Sule demanded that the culprit be given the strictest possible punishment and that the case must be tried in a fast-track court.

Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sakpal said that serious crimes were taking place in Pune, while Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was busy protecting “corrupt” officials.

“The rape incident has exposed the deteriorating law and order situation in the state,” Sakpal said. “Those going all out to appease women through ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme have failed to ensure safety and security of women.”

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said that the incident was infuriating and shameful. “There can be no other punishment for the crime than the death penalty,” he said.

Pawar, the guardian minister for Pune district, said he has asked the Pune City police commissioner to personally look into the matter and ensure that the accused man is arrested immediately.

The chief minister “has also taken this crime seriously and has given necessary instructions to the police”, he said.

The National Commission for Women on Wednesday wrote to the Maharashtra director general of police seeking a fair and time-bound investigation into the rape case. The panel’s chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar urged the police to arrest the person accused in the matter at the earliest and provide support to the woman.

The commission directed the police to submit an action taken report within three days.