Badlapur sexual abuse: Lawyers refuse to defend accused; MVA calls bandh on Aug 24

As protests intensified against the sexual abuse of two minor girls at a school in Badlapur town of Maharashtra’s Thane district, lawyers affiliated to the Kalyan Bar Association announced that they will not defend the accused, Akshay Shinde, in court.

Police custody of accused extended

A local court on Wednesday (August 21) extended till August 26 the police custody the accused.

The accused, who was employed as an attendant at the school where the incident took place last week, was produced before a magistrate at Kalyan in the district on Wednesday morning amid tight police security.

The court ordered the extension of his police custody till August 26, following which he was taken away by the police in a van, a senior official said.

MVA calls for Maharashtra bandh on August 24

While schools remained shut in Badlapur on Wednesday, the administration suspended internet services in the town.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi comprising the Congress, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP, also gave a bandh call on August 24 to protest against the crime.

The decision was taken after a meeting between the allies, Vijay Wadettiwar, the leader of the Opposition in the state assembly said.

“We discussed the issue of women’s security in the state and the failure of the BJP-led Mahayuti government on all fronts,” he said.

Congress stages protest

Meanwhile, Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad led a protest outside Mantralaya, the state secretariat, over the incident. Wadettiwar and a few Congress leaders were also present during the protest.

Holding placards outside the gates of Mantralaya, Congress leaders and workers shouted slogans against the government for the “delay in the registration of the FIR”. The protesters were stopped by the police from entering the premises.

Gaikwad and Wadettiwar slammed the state government for the “rise in crimes against women in the state”.

School covered up crime: Child rights commission

Meanwhile, Susieben Shah, the chairperson of Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, on Wednesday said that the school in Badlapur where the crimes happened, preferred to cover it up instead of helping parents of the girls to file a police complaint.

Shah stressed the urgency of the matter, saying that the alleged sexual abuse of the two kindergarten students is a clear case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act.

After learning about the incident, the state child rights panel chief said, she contacted the Thane District Child Protection Unit about the parents’ concerns.

“They (child protection unit) took them to the police to file the complaint. When I asked the school management about the case, they tried to cover it up. I even asked them why POCSO provisions should not be invoked against the school management,” said Shah.

She said if the school management had promptly alerted the police, the chaotic situation in Badlapur could have been avoided. “The issue arises from the parents being made to wait for 11 hours.” Despite being apprised of the alleged sexual attack, the principal “chose not to contact the police”. “Instead, she went to the school management,” Shah said, calling the episode a “terrible state of affairs”.

Massive protests rock Badlapur

Tuesday saw widespread protests against the sexual abuse of the two kindergarten students with irate protesters blocking railway tracks at Badlapur station and storming the school building.

Following the protest, the Maharashtra government announced formation of a special investigation team (SIT) headed by senior IPS officer Arti Singh to probe the incident.

At least 25 police personnel were injured in stone-pelting at the railway station and other parts of Badlapur on Tuesday and the police have arrested at least 72 persons in connection with the violence.

Police on August 17 arrested the accused, an attendant at the school for sexually abusing the two girl students of the kindergarten at a school in Badlapur. As per the complaint, he abused the girls in the toilet of the school, an official said.

The opposition parties have alleged that the parents of the girls were made to wait for 11 hours at Badlapur police station before the officials took note of their complaints.

(With inputs from agencies)