Badlapur protests: All about the sexual abuse case

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde said that a special public prosecutor will be appointed, and the case will be fast-tracked.

On Tuesday, Eknath Shinde, Maharashtra Chief Minister, ordered the police to impose the attempt of the rape charge against the accused, who is now arrested for allegedly sexually abusing two girl students at a school in Thane’s Badlapur. The CM also assured that a special public prosecutor would be appointed and the case would be fast-tracked. The CM said, “I have spoken to the Thane Commissioner of Police. The accused has been arrested. I have asked the case to be fast-tracked and book the accused under the charges of attempt to rape and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.”

What happened in Thane’s Badlapur?

Recently, in Badlapur, two kindergarten students at a school were sexually abused by a male attendant. The accused last week was arrested. On Tuesday, angry parents and citizens stormed the school and vandalized it. They have also been out on the streets and blocked the path of trains at Badlapur railway station since 8.30 am. Some of them even hurled stones during the protest. However, the situation was soon brought under control. The victims are aged three and four. They were abused in the school’s toilet. The school’s management has suspended the principal, a class teacher, and a female attendant.

What is the case?

A male cleaning staff, 23, of a school in Badlapur sexually abused two kindergarten school girls. The assault happened when the girls went to use the toilet, and the school appointed no female staff for the girls’ toilets. The accused, named Akshay Shinde, was appointed on August 1, 2024, on a contractual basis. The assault was revealed when a girl complained about pain in her private parts. She later informed her parents that the accused touched her private parts when she had gone to use the toilet in school. The parents contacted the other girl’s parents. The parents then got the girls examined by a local doctor, and it was revealed that they had both been sexually abused.

The CM warned of legal action if the school’s management is negligent. Additionally, he has called for a review to confirm whether Sakhi Savitri committees, designed for supporting and safeguarding students, have been established in schools. Several measures, like installing complaint boxes in every school, have been proposed.