Badlapur sexual assault: Lawyer urges Bombay High Court to act on the case

Bombay High Court/ File Photo

A Mumbai-based lawyer has asked the Bombay High Court to take suo motu (on its own) cognisance of an alleged sexual assault on two young girls at a school in Badlapur, Maharashtra.

Advocate Ajinkya Gaikwad addressed Justice Bharati Dangre with his request, but the judge recommended he file it with an appropriate division or two-member bench since cases like Badlapur sexual assault cannot be heard by a single bench, reported PTI.

According to the report, the Badlapur sexual assault case, which involved the abuse of two kindergarten youngsters, aged three and four, by a 23-year-old male school employee, aroused considerable indignation.

The Maharashtra government appointed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by senior IPS officer Arti Singh to investigate the Badlapur sexual assault case. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has pledged that the issue will be expedited and that the guilty will face strict punishment, the report added.

Following the incident, thousands of demonstrators blocked railway tracks at Thane district's Badlapur station and attacked the school. To quell the situation, the police used lathi charges on the throng, which included many parents. In response to the assault, several demonstrators vandalised the school building, the report stated.

Meanwhile, Deepak Kesarkar, Maharashtra's School Education Minister, announced the development of 'Vishakha committees' in schools, which will provide a forum for female students, particularly those in the ninth and tenth grades and junior college, to voice their concerns. If CCTV cameras on school grounds are discovered to be inoperable, schools will be held accountable, stated the PTI report.

Despite officials' requests to let trains pass, the demonstration at Badlapur station lasted all day. State Minister Girish Mahajan sought to calm the protesters, but they remained steadfast in their desire for justice and the death penalty for the perpetrators.

However, BJP MLA Kisan Kathore said that the demonstration over the Badlapur sexual assault case was politically driven and that agitators from nearby districts were participating.

In response to the event, the school's administration has suspended the principal, a class teacher, and a female attendant. Furthermore, the state government has ordered the suspension of three police officers, including a senior police inspector, for alleged dereliction of duty in the case.

Opposition parties have slammed the police, stating that the victims' parents were forced to wait 11 hours before their concerns were addressed. Uddhav Thackeray demanded the trial of the Badlapur sexual assault case to be fast-tracked.

The Maharashtra government has also ordered that the accused be charged with attempted rape under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The school administration has apologised for the incident and blacklisted the housekeeping firm that employed the accused.