Anger and frustration swept through the town of Badlapur in Thane district after two four-year-old nursery girls were allegedly sexually abused by a newly hired male sweeper at a reputed English medium school. The incident sparked large-scale protests at Badlapur railway station on Tuesday, with locals halting train services and blocking tracks to voice their outrage.
According to the Central Railway Public Relations Officer, the protests disrupted local train operations at Badlapur station. Demonstrators were expressing their anger over the alleged sexual assault of the young girls, which occurred last week. The police have since arrested the accused, a 24-year-old sweeper who had recently started working at the school.
The parents of the victims discovered the horrifying details on August 18 and immediately filed a police complaint. However, they were dissatisfied with the slow response from authorities. They claim the First Information Report (FIR) was filed more than 12 hours after their initial complaint and only after intervention from the District Women and Child Welfare Department.
The school administration, under pressure from the outraged community, suspended the school principal, the class teacher, and a female attendant. This action was taken in response to the incident and raised questions about how a male staff member was allowed to accompany young girls to the washroom.
The abuse came to light when one of the victims confided in her grandfather about the horrific acts she and her friend experienced at the hands of the sweeper. The girl's family informed the other victim's parents, who then noticed their daughter had developed a fear of attending school. Both families took the children to a private doctor, who confirmed that the girls had been sexually abused.
Following the medical confirmation, the families sought help from a local political leader who accompanied them to the police station. However, their grievances were compounded by the police's handling of the situation. Instead of registering their complaint promptly, the parents were made to wait for hours as the police stated they needed to verify the allegations first. To make matters worse, it was revealed that the CCTV cameras at the school had not been operational for several days, further complicating the investigation.
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