The chairperson of the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MSCPCR) criticised the handling of a sexual abuse case at a Badlapur school on Wednesday, stating that the school administration tried to cover up the incident instead of assisting the victims’ families in filing a police complaint. MSCPCR chief Susieben Shah also emphasised the need for strict enforcement of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
“They (child protection unit) took them to the police to file the complaint. When I asked the school management about the case, they tried to cover it up. I even asked them why POCSO provisions should not be invoked against the school management,” said Shah.
What the case is about
The incident in question involves two four-year-old girls who were allegedly sexually assaulted by Akshay Shinde, a 23-year-old male cleaner employed by the school. The assaults reportedly took place on separate days within the first 10 days of Shinde’s employment, but the school authorities failed to notice.
Although the school management was informed of the first assault on August 12, they did not report the incident to the police. Instead, they downplayed the parents’ concerns, suggesting that the child might have been assaulted by an outsider.
The parents of the young victims were allegedly made to wait for 11 hours at the Badlapur police station before their complaints were taken seriously. Frustrated by the lack of action from both the school and the police, the parents, along with local residents, staged protests. The demonstration, which began at the school, quickly intensified as protestors moved to block the railway tracks at Badlapur station, disrupting the central railway suburban network for several hours.
MSCPCR chief Susieben Shah remarked that the chaotic situation in Badlapur could have been avoided if the school management had promptly reported the incident to the police.
“The issue arises from the parents being made to wait for 11 hours.”
Despite being informed of the alleged sexual assault, the principal “chose not to contact the police”. “Instead, she went to the school management,” Shah said, referring to the incident as a “terrible state of affairs”.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has announced a “Maharashtra bandh” on August 24 to protest the alleged sexual assault. Vijay Wadettiwar, leader of the opposition in the state Assembly, stated that all MVA allies will take part in the bandh on August 24.