Badlapur railway station in Maharashtra’s Thane district saw thousands of protesters on Tuesday blocking train tracks over the alleged sexual assault of two four-year-old girls by a school sweeper in the washroom. The massive protest led disruption of local train services and diversion of some long-distance trains.Police broke up the protests after nine hours by lathicharging protesters at the railway station.
Two four-year-old girls studying in pre-primary classes at a prominent co-ed school in Badlapur were allegedly sexually assaulted by the 23-year-old male cleaner, Akshay Shinde, on August 12-13. The assaults occurred in the girls’ toilet, which reportedly lacked female staff supervision. The accused was hired on August 1, 2024, on a contractual basis.
The matter came to light when one of the girls complained of pain and disclosed her ordeal to her parents. The shocked parents then discovered that a second girl was also allegedly assaulted. A complaint was filed on Friday night, leading to the alleged perpetrator’s arrest.
Also Read : Kolkata Rape-Murder Case: Doctors’ Federation Discusses Ending Strike After SC Intervention
India Today, citing an FIR, reported that the incident took place between 9am and 12pm on August 13. The family of one of the girls first grew suspicious on August 13, after they spoke to the other child’s family member, who told them that they were planning to file a sexual assault complaint.
The complaint added that the girl appeared frightened and told her parents that an older male at school, whom she referred to as “dada” (Marathi for elder brother), had undressed her and touched her inappropriately.
The family reported the incident to the police on August 16, but they claim the FIR was not filed until 12 hours later, around 9pm that day, the India Today report added. The FIR details that the accused had sexually abused the child.
Parents, protesters block Badlapur railway station
On Tuesday, the parents of the girls were on a silent protest outside the school in the morning before a sudden crowd joined the agitation between 9.30am and 10am, escalating the situation in view of the inadequate police deployment. MNS leader Sangita Chedvankar, who was leading the protest, immediately left the spot, while Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Kisan Kathore allegedly looked on as the crowd went amok.
The school suspended the principal and three staff members as the protests escalated, but citizens have demanded a death penalty to the accused, a cleaner in the school.
The Thane police have deployed heavy forces, even as Government Railway Police (GRP) commissioner Ravindra Shisve tried to pacify the crowd by assuring the protestors that stern action would be taken against the accused. However, the agitators refused to budge and went on with their rail blockade.
The police eventually fired tear gas and lathi-charged the crowd that had gathered outside the school and at the railway station, further agitating the protesters who then resorted to stone-pelting.
Thane protest: 12 trains diverted, 30 local trains partially cancelled
Also Read : ‘Bharat Bandh’ on August 21: Who called it and why?
Protests which erupted at Badlapur railway station in Thane district disrupted rail services on the route leading to the diversion of 12 mail express trains and partial cancellation of 30 local trains.
CPRO Central Railway in a statement said, “Till now approximately 12 mail express trains have been diverted and koyna has been rerouted from near to Badlapur back to Kalyan and then towards Karjat via diva and Panvel. Approximately 30 local trains have been partially cancelled between Ambernath and Karjat khopoli. The number is likely to increase exponentially with starting of peak hour.”
However, “services from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to Ambernath and towards Kasara are running normally”, he said.
