High Court's comment in Badlapur case, said: 'Even girls are not being spared, what kind of situation is this'.
The Bombay High Court has taken and suo motu cognizance
of the sexual harassment of minor girls in a school in the Badlapur. The case
was heard today i.e. on Thursday. During this, the court said that now even
four-year-old innocent girls are not safe. They are also not being spared. What
kind of situation is this. If the schools themselves are not safe then what is
the meaning of the right to education and other things. The High Court has
asked to register a case under POCSO against the school administration for
hiding the information of the case. The court has also sought a copy of the
case diary and FIR from the government. And The next hearing of the case will
be on August 27.
The court asked the government whether the girls had
complained of sexual abuse to the school administration. The government
answered yes. The court asked whether the police registered a case against the
school. Under POCSO, there is a provision to make the school administration an
accused for hiding the information of the incident. The government said that
SIT has been formed. Now the case will be registered. The court reprimanded the
police and said that as soon as the girl's family filed an FIR, a case should
have been registered against the school authorities.
The court said that we are also surprised to know that
the police did not even record the statement of the second girl's family. We
took cognizance, then the police did this. You recorded the statement after
midnight. How can you do this? Why so much delay? Tell me. The girls themselves
have given information about the incident. A lot of courage is required for
this. The court said in a strict tone that if there is any kind of negligence
on the part of the state government and the police or an attempt is made to
suppress the matter, then we will not shy away from taking action.
In fact, a case of sexual harassment of two girls has
come to light in a famous school in Badlapur East. One of the victims is four
years old and the other is six years old. The incident took place on 12 and 13
August. Accused Akshay Shinde has been arrested. He was recruited in the school
on August 1, 2024 on a contract basis to clean toilets. The school had not
appointed any female staff to clean the girls' toilets. Taking advantage of
this, the accused misbehaved with the children during classes on August 12 and
13.
After the case came to light, there was a massive
protest in Badlapur on Tuesday. Meanwhile, internet services were shut down in
the city on Wednesday. Police said that 72 people have been arrested in
connection with the violence during the agitation. And The government has
ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by senior
IPS officer Arti Singh to investigate the matter.
Maharashtra bandh called on
August 24
And The Maha Vikas Aghadi has called for a Maharashtra
bandh on August 24 in protest against the incident. Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT)
and NCP (SCP) had announced it on August 21. Earlier, Maharashtra CM Eknath
Shinde had described the protest on August 20 as politically motivated. He
claimed that most of the protesters were outsiders. On this, Uddhav Thackeray
said on Thursday that those who think that And there is politics behind the
protest against the Badlapur incident are either not normal or are protecting
the culprits. And There is no political motive behind the bandh called on 2024
August 24. The safety of women should be everyone's priority.
Government and school
management in action
And Earlier,The Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has also
assured action against the school. He said that the matter will be investigated
speedily and the culprits will not be spared. The school management has
suspended the principal, a class teacher and a female attendant for the
incident. The state government has also ordered the suspension of three police
officers, including a senior police inspector, for negligence. In fact,
opposition parties had alleged that the parents of the girls had to wait for 11
hours at the Badlapur police station.
How was the disclosure made?
Actually, on August 14, a girl complained to her
parents about pain in her private parts after returning home from school. When
the girl kept complaining to her parents, the parents got suspicious. When they
questioned the girl, the whole truth of the incident came to light. When she
went to the toilet, it was revealed that a 23-year-old sweeper named Akshay
Shinde had touched her private part.
The worried parents contacted the parents of another girl of the same class, and they also said that their daughter was afraid of going to school for a few days. When the condition of both the girls became suspicious, the parents immediately got them examined by a local doctor. Later it was revealed that the accused had misbehaved with the girls.
