Badlapur school sexual abuse: Bombay high court takes suo motu cognizance after protest in Thane, hearing today
The Bombay high court has taken suo motu cognizance of the alleged sexual assault of two four-year-old girls at a school in Badlapur in Maharashtra’s Thane district. The matter will be heard on Thursday by a division bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Prithviraj Chavan.
Two kindergarten students in Badlapur were sexually abused in their school toilet allegedly by a male sweeper, causing enraged parents and citizens to protest outside the school on Tuesday. The accused, a 23-year-old Akshay Shinde, was arrested last week.
Agitations turned violent with stones being thrown and the school being vandalised. The Maharashtra Police arrested more than 40 people and registered an FIR against 300 people following the massive protest.
The assault was uncovered when one of the girls complained of pain in her private parts. She later told her parents that the accused touched her when she had gone to use the toilet.
The parents of the two girls talked and realised that both had been scared to go to school and shared similar stories. A local doctor confirmed that the two girls had been sexually assaulted.
Chief minister Eknath Shinde promised swift action in the case by forming a special investigation team and has also called for a review of Sakhi Savitree committees in the state, meant to ensure the safety of women and children.
Susieben Shah, chairperson of the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, condemned the school for not having any female attendants in toilets and for negligence.
“The incident that happened in Badlapur yesterday is very condemnable. Yesterday I visited the school and also enquired there and we felt that there were some shortcomings in all sections,” she said.
Chief minister Shinde has come under fire from opposition parties for playing politics in the case. Congress state president Nana Patole along with the NCP(SP) have called for a Maharashtra Bandh on August 24.