Badlapur sexual assault case: Internet services in Badlapur, Thane district, Maharashtra, were suspended on Wednesday following large-scale protests over the alleged sexual abuse of two kindergarten children. Authorities said the unrest led to the arrest of 72 people in connection with the violence. At least 17 city policemen and around eight railway police personnel were injured in stone-pelting incidents at the railway station and various parts of the city during the protests that erupted on Tuesday. In response to the violence, heavy police presence has been deployed across Badlapur to restore and maintain law and order.
A near-total lockdown was seen in Badlapur on Tuesday as thousands of protesters blocked railway tracks at the station and attacked the school premises where a sexual abuse by a school cleaner had allegedly taken place last week. Authorities have since reported that the situation in the town has returned to normal. Protesters hurled stones at police and vandalised school buildings during the protest. Police used stick charges to disperse the protesters and clear the tracks for trains to run. Superintendent of Police Sudhakar Pathare told media that internet services in the town had been suspended following the protests and the subsequent violence.
“Internet services will be restored after assessing the situation in the town,” he said.
Badlapur sexual assault case
Police arrested a school official on August 17 for sexually abusing two kindergarten girls. According to the complaint, the official abused the girls in the school toilets. Following the incident, the school administration suspended the principal, the teacher in charge and the female official. On Tuesday, the state government suspended three police officers, including a senior police inspector, for failing to investigate the sexual abuse of the two girls.
‘Rail Roko’ protests in Badlapur
On Tuesday morning, angry parents of the children and local residents, including several women, gathered outside the school and also staged a “rail roko” protest at the railway station, blocking the path of local trains from around 8.30 am. Some of the protesters, including women, then vandalised the school building by breaking its gates, window panes, benches and doors. According to PTI, the school where the incident took place belongs to a close relative of a BJP leader from Badlapur, an official said.
Also read: Maha Vikas Aghadi calls for Maharashtra bandh on August 24 in protest against Badlapur sexual assault case
