Internet services were suspended on Wednesday in the wake of the protests and subsequent violence in Badlapur. The internet services will be restored after the law-and-order situation in Badlapur is reviewed. Most schools remained shut in the city on Wednesday in light of the tense situation.
Two four-year-old girls studying in the pre-primary classes of a prominent co-ed school in Badlapur were allegedly sexually assaulted on August 12-13 by a 23-year-old sweeper. The incident reportedly occurred inside a girls’ toilet, when the students went to use it.
The parents of the children staged a blockade on August 20 morning at the local railway station, seeking stringent action against the accused, identified as Akshay Shinde.
Akshay Shinde was contracted by the school through a third-party company. Police arrested him after the parents insisted on filing a formal complaint, after an alleged attempt to delay the FIR.
The protests on Tuesday turned violent as agitators vandalised the school and indulged in stone-pelting at the local railway station. They stormed the school and vandalised the classrooms and administration offices. Residents, including numerous women, blocked the tracks at the station, interrupting the services of the Mumbai local.
The protest led to significant police and Railway Protection Force (RPF) deployment at both the railway station and the school. During the protests, 17 police personnel and about eight RPF personnel were injured in stonepelting.
FIRs have been filed against 300 people who were part of the protests that erupted in Badlapur.
The school management has suspended the principal, a class teacher, and a female attendant over the sexual assault. The state government on Tuesday ordered the suspension of three police personnel, including a senior police inspector, for alleged dereliction of duty in probing the sexual abuse of the two girls.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has directed the police to invoke the attempt-to-rape charge and POCSO Act against the accused. The case will be fast-tracked and a special public prosecutor will be appointed, Shinde said on Tuesday, as the incident fuelled a massive protest by parents.