Badlapur sexual assault: Politicians express outrage over case; slam Mahayuti govt

Parents and locals staged protest on Tuesday morning over the Badlapur sexual assault case

Following the massive protest by parents over the Badlapur sexual assault case, several prominent politicians of Maharashtra took to social media to express their anguish over the incident. The leaders also demanded stringent action against the accused and urged the government to fast-track the trial in the case.

An attendant of a Badlapur school was arrested on August 17 for allegedly sexually abusing two girl students of the kindergarten who are aged three and four years in the school toilet.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, taking to X (formerly Twitter), said that the Badlapur sexual assault case was "shocking and infuriating". He questioned the laxity of police in registering a case over the incident.

"The horrific incident at Badlapur school is shocking and infuriating. Why did the police take 12 hours to register the case? This is a glaring example of negligence by police. My Maharashtrian supporters have raised this issue, and I urge them to keep pressing for action until the accused receives the strictest punishment," Raj Thackeray said speaking about the Badlapur sexual assault case.

Meanwhile, the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad said that there was nothing more painful for a parent to hear about their 4-year-old daughter being sexually abused and to have to wait for 12 hours for a case to be registered against the accused.

Speaking about the Badlapur sexual assault Awhad said, "What can be more painful for a parent to hear about the abuse of their 4-year-old daughter and have to wait for 12 hours to report the crime? What happened in Badlapur was very painful, and even more outraged by the delay by the police! How can our police administration behave so irresponsibly?"

He said that if the police behaved so irresponsibly, the public would indeed get angry and protest.

While shirking responsibility for the incidents against women, our government is busy distributing money for the Ladaki Bahin Yojana, he said in his tweet.

Awhad further urged President Droupadi Murmu to give assent to the Maharashtra Power Bill so "crimes against women are severely punished, and an example is set against such crimes in the state and the country".

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, speaking about the Badlapur sexual assault case, said that she was "very perturbed and outraged".

"Women are often told to go outside only at a certain time, with safety, wear certain types of clothes and it was women's fault. These were just 4-year-old girls. Every parent believes that school is the place outside home, where girls can feel safe. We are seeing outrage in Badlapur over the heinous crime," said Chaturvedi