The sexual abuse of two four-year-old girls in a school in Badlapur town in Thane district of Maharashtra has shaken the entire nation. A family member of one of the girls who was sexually abused in the school has accused the school administration and the police of gross negligence and harassment. The family member alleged that the school principal had rejected the medical report confirming sexual abuse. He said that instead of accepting the medical report, the principal said that the girl must have suffered injuries in her private parts due to cycling.
Speaking to India Today TV, the family member also said that the girl’s parents were made to wait for long hours both at the hospital and the police station. They were also allegedly threatened by police officials and asked not to participate in public protests over the case. The accused was employed as an assistant in the school where the incident took place last week. A local court on Wednesday extended the police custody of a man arrested for sexually assaulting two four-year-old girls till August 26.
The family member said that the school principal and teacher were informed about the incident, but they did not take any action. He said that despite the medical report confirming assault, the principal and teacher claimed that the injury may have been caused outside the school or while riding a bicycle. The girl’s parents also asked the school why there was no female staff there when the children were using the toilet. The accused sexually abused both the girls in the toilet itself. The family member claimed that they came to know that a girl student had been sexually abused earlier in the school. The family member alleged that we came to know that a male teacher of the same school had committed a similar crime with a class 8 girl.
The family has also accused a female police officer of holding a secret meeting with the school management to cover up the incident. After this meeting, the officer reportedly dismissed the family’s claims despite medical evidence. “She told us that no such incident had taken place and asked us not to spread false stories,” the family member said.
These allegations raise fresh questions about the initial action taken by local authorities in the Badlapur sexual assault case. Two girls aged three and four were sexually abused by a sweeper at a school in Badlapur on August 12-13. The family of one of the girls admitted her to a private hospital for a medical examination. After the report confirmed injuries on the girls’ private parts, the family went to the school with the report on August 16, but the school rejected it.
The family member said that they later went to the police station to lodge a report. However, their complaints were not taken seriously immediately. It took 12 hours and the FIR was finally registered after the intervention of local Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leaders. The family member alleged that even after this the police made several changes to their statement in the FIR.
The accused has been identified as Akshay Shinde, who was arrested on August 17. Further, the family member said that the girl and her parents had to wait for a long time both at the hospital and the police station. The family member said that they had to go for a medical test at the government hospital at 9 am on August 17, but the police arrived only at 11.45 am. The girl and her father and pregnant mother had to wait for hours.
The family member said the whole family is now facing serious health issues, the girl is in shock and is refusing to meet anyone. Her pregnant mother is very ill, having to run between the hospital and the police station. The father is bed-ridden, and the family is upset with the ongoing police interrogation. The handling of the case by the police and allegations of a cover-up by local officials led to a day-long massive protest in Badalpur on Tuesday, August 20. Angry locals vandalised the school and a mob at the Badalpur railway station disrupted train services.