The Bombay High Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognizance of the sexual assault of two kindergarten girl students at a school in Thane’s Badlapur. A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan will hear the matter at 10:30 am today. Two kindergarten girls were allegedly sexually assaulted by housekeeping staff at a school in Maharashtra’s Badlapur last week. According to reports, the incident took place in the school toilet on August 13. According to the First Information Report (FIR), the parents reported the incident to the police on August 16. The family said the FIR was registered 11 hours after their complaint.
On August 17, the police arrested 23-year-old school attendant Akshay Shinde for sexually assaulting two girls. The local court has extended his police custody till August 26. Following the incident, several protests have been held over the alleged sexual abuse of two kindergarten girls. Several people have been arrested in connection with the violence that took place during the agitation. Earlier, the National Human Rights Commission on Tuesday took suo motu cognizance of the incident and sought a detailed report from Maharashtra authorities.
It issued notices to Maharashtra Chief Secretary and Director General of Police seeking a detailed report on the incident within two weeks. Meanwhile, a local court on Wednesday extended the police custody of a man arrested for sexually assaulting two girls at a school in Badlapur town in Maharashtra’s Thane district till August 26.
The accused was working as an assistant in the school where the incident took place last week. He was produced before a magistrate in Kalyan district amid tight police security on Wednesday morning. The opposition alliance in Maharashtra, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), has called for a “Maharashtra bandh” on August 24 to protest the alleged sexual assault of two school girls.
The Maharashtra education department on Wednesday directed all schools in the state to install CCTV cameras within a month in the wake of the Badlapur sexual abuse case. The Kalyan Bar Association appealed to all its members not to appear in court on behalf of the accused arrested in the Badlapur case.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he has ordered the formation of a special investigation team headed by senior IPS officer Arti Singh, while Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said action will be taken against the school and the culprits will not be spared. Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Supriya Sule, led by former Union minister Sharad Pawar, hit out at the Maharashtra government over the Badlapur sexual assault case and demanded the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis. Fadnavis also holds the charge of Home Ministry.
