Mumbai: Hours after hundreds of protesters and irate parents blocked the railway line at Badlapur railway station in Thane in protest, Maharashtra government Tuesday ordered formation of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe alleged sexual assault of two minors at a local private school by a cleaner who has been arrested.
Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis announced the formation of an SIT headed by IPS officer Arti Singh to probe the case. Fadnavis, who has the home portfolio, also said he has sought a proposal from the Thane police commissioner to refer the case to a fast track court.
“Whatever happened at Badlapur is very unfortunate and condemnable. We have taken note of this incident and subsequent outrage of protestors,” he said.
The matter came to light Tuesday morning when parents of students of a local private school gathered outside the school premises in large numbers to protest against the alleged sexual assault of two girl students, aged 4.
Police sources told ThePrint that it was not a gathering organised in advance.
Carrying placards and banners, the parents and other protesters then proceeded to Badlapur railway station where they jumped on the tracks during peak hours to grab the attention of the administration and demand capital punishment for the accused.
At one point, an altercation broke out between the police and protestors during which stones were pelted at police personnel. There were also reports of vandalism at the private school where the alleged sexual assault took place.
#WATCH | Maharashtra | Police resort to lathi-charge to disperse protestors gathered at Badlapur railway station to protest against alleged sexual assault with a girl student pic.twitter.com/sAUn6bKhp2
— ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2024
“We want safety for our girls. Should we not even send them to school now? We don’t want the Rs 1,500 of Ladki Bahin (scheme), give us safety and security,” one protester told media persons.
Protesters alleged that families of the two girls were made to run from pillar to post for 12 hours before police registered an FIR on 18 August. “If such an incident would have happened in the case of an MLA or MP’s family, would the police have kept quiet? Why did the parents have to run around for 12 hours to get the FIR registered?” said a protester.
Taking note of the alleged laxity on the part of the police, Fadnavis said Tuesday that three police officials (an inspector, an assistant sub-inspector and a head constable) have been suspended pending further investigation.
Meanwhile, police had to resort to lathicharge Tuesday evening to clear the tracks and facilitate resumption of train services along the Badlapur line.
What we know about Badlapur case so far
In their complaint to the police, parents alleged that a cleaner who recently joined the school sexually abused the two minor girls in a school toilet.
The FIR, which ThePrint has accessed, states that one of the two minor girls informed her family that the accused inappropriately touched her and a fellow student in school. The family then decided to consult a doctor who alerted them to signs of sexual assault.
According to the FIR, the accused has been booked under sections 65(2), 74, 75 and 76 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and sections 4(2), 8 and 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
State education minister Deepak Kesarkar said the alleged sexual assault is believed to have occurred between 13 and 16 August. A station in-charge has been transferred for failing to act in a timely manner after he was approached by the girls’ parents, he added.
Kesarkar also said that the state government had made installation of CCTV cameras “compulsory in schools; but here, it has come to our notice that CCTV was not working”. The government, he told media persons, will now issue an order stating that installation of CCTVs is not enough and that these cameras should be functional.
On its part, the school management suspended the principal, a class teacher and two staffers in connection with the case. The school management also tendered a public apology and said it had blacklisted the firm contracted for cleaning services.
However, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairperson Priyank Kanungo told media persons that the school’s handling of the case was “insensitive” and it “tried to suppress the case”. He also said the police station in question “did not register an FIR in due time” and the child rights body will send a fact-finding team to the school.
Oppn asks: ‘Is the government sleeping?’
The Opposition in the state cited the seriousness of the case along with alleged laxity on the part of the police in registering an FIR to attack the ruling Mahayuti and CM Eknath Shinde, who hails from Thane.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief and former CM Uddhav Thackeray said though one should not politicise the case, girls and women are not safe in Maharashtra.
Supriya Sule, NCP (SP) MP from Baramati, said home department is answerable to people. “This government needs to resign if it cannot give justice to a daughter. The buck stops at Mantralaya. Merely transferring concerned people is not the solution. Only by giving Rs 1,500, the problem won’t go away. Women’s safety is paramount,” she told the media.
Echoing her thoughts, the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Vijay Wadettiwar of the Congress trained his guns at Fadnavis. “Where is the law? What is the home minister doing? The law and order situation is deteriorating. This incident was not taken seriously in the beginning. Whom were they trying to shield? Crimes against women are going up. Is the government sleeping?” he remarked.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) also hit out at the ruling Mahayuti for not pushing the Shakti Bill the previous MVA government had introduced through the assembly. The Bill is awaiting the President’s nod.
“We need justice: we need examples of harsh punishment which will set fear in the minds of these rapists. As for Maharashtra, I once again urge @rashtrapatibhvn Murmu ji to give her long pending assent to Maharashtra Shakti Bill, that will empower the law on Crimes against Women,” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray wrote in a post on X.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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