Two girls, aged three and four, were allegedly sexually assaulted by a cleaning staffer in a girls’ toilet in Maharashtra’s Thane district. Massive outrage was seen on Tuesday at the Badlapur station in Thane as protestors held a rail roko protest against the alleged assault of 2 kindergarten students.
The co-ed school were the girls studied was also vandalised by protestors. The parents of the children studying in the school and others, including several women, were among those protesting.
A police case was filed, and the cleaning staffer, identified as Akshay Shinde, was arrested on August 17.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has assured to fast-track the case, adding that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) will probe the case. The SIT will be headed by Inspector General of Police-rank officer Aarti Singh.
MASSIVE PROTESTS IN THANE
It has been over six hours since the agitators blocked the local trains at the Badlapur railway station. According to news agency PTI, services between Karjat and Kalyan section took a hit.
Besides, the protests led to the diversion of 10 long-distance trains via alternate routes, the Central Railway said. A call for Badlapur bandh has been given by several organisations to protest against the incident.
The Solapur-CSMT Vande Bharat Express was diverted via Karjat-Panvel-Thane stations, said Swapnil Nila, chief public relations officer (CRPO) of Central Railway.
Sixty jawans and 10 officials of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) are monitoring the situation at Badlapur station.
Shops and other establishments in the Badalpur region remained closed on Tuesday. The school where the alleged sexual assault occurred also remained shut. Local political leaders, along with supporters, also turned up for the demonstration.
The police arrested the protestors for stone pelting outside the school where the incident took place.
ALL ABOUT THE CASE
The alleged sexual assault incident came to light after two girls, aged three and four, refused to go to school saying they were scared. On August 12, two kindergarten students complained to their parents about a cleaning staffer at their school.
The parents then took the girls to a local doctor, who confirmed injuries to the private part of one girl, sources told India Today TV.
Following this, the parents went to school on August 16. After waiting for three hours there, police arrived and tried to get a statement from the girls.
However, no FIR was registered, the parents told the women and child welfare committee.
The parents alleged that an FIR was registered 12 hours after their appeal to the police. According to sources, police also found that the CCTV installed at the school was not working.