Badlapur Sexual Assault Case: Internet Suspended Amid Protests; NHRC Seeks Report

A huge protest erupted on Tuesday, August 20, over the sexual assault of 2 minor girls in a school located in the Badlapur area of Thane district in Maharashtra. Agitators had occupied railway tracks at the local railway station in the area. The protest at the station turned into violence as protestors pelted stones at police, which security forces as enforced lathi-charge protesters.

Parents and protestors also broke into the school premises and vandalised the property before the police took over the structure. After witnessing this violent protest from the local people, authorities suspended internet services in the Badlapur area on Tuesday. 

Also Read | Badlapur Sexual Abuse Case: Police Fire Tear Gas, Use Lathi-Charge to Disperse Protesters (Watch Video).

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde ordered fast-track the case and investigation into the alleged assault case of 4-year-old girls. "I spoke to the Commissioner of Police in the morning and said the accused should be charged under the strictest sections (of POCSO and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita). The case will be fast-tracked. The accused will be given the strictest punishment and, as people have demanded, we will seek capital punishment so that such incidents do not happen again,” Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said.

#WATCH | Maharashtra | Police resort to lathi-charge to disperse protestors gathered at Badlapur railway station to protest against alleged sexual assault with a girl student pic.twitter.com/sAUn6bKhp2

— ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2024

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) sought a detailed report from the Maharashtra government on the assault case and on the delay in filing an FIR in the case. The NHRC has issued notices to the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police of Maharashtra, demanding a detailed report on the incident within two weeks.

"The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report carried on August 18, 2024, that two minor girl students were allegedly sexually abused by a staff member of a school in Thane," an NHRC release said.

Also Read | Raj Thackeray on Badlapur School Case: "Why Did the Police Take 12 Hours to File a Case?" Questions MNS Chief.

"Reportedly, the parents have raised questions about why a female staff member was not deputed to clean the girls' washroom. Allegedly, the registration of the FIR was delayed almost 12 hours after they complained to the police about the matter," it added.

Maharashtra Minister Deepak Kesarkar assured action on the alleged sexual assault of two minor girls at a school in Badlapur. "I spoke with the school management, as well as with NGOs that initiated action. I was about to announce the action before the protestors, but meanwhile, at the protest site, someone threw a bottle and a lathi charge was launched. So, I could not speak with them," he said.

However, situation returns to normal today at Badlapur railway station, a day after an intense 'rail roko' protest over the alleged sexual abuse of two girls at a school.