Train services on the Central Railway were severely disrupted as hundreds of locals came out on the tracks at Badlapur in Thane district in protest against the alleged sexual assault of two girls at a school.
The four-year-old girls studying in the nursery were allegedly sexually abused by a sweeper at a reputed school in Thane district. The school administration on Monday suspended the principal and two staffers, apart from sacking the accused who has been arrested.
As protesters hit the railway tracks at Badlapur in the morning, suburban train services were affected massively. Local train services remained suspended between Ambernath and Karjat even hours later as authorities tried in vain to convince the people to withdraw their protests.
Badlapur is a suburb on the central railway route that connects Mumbai with Pune and onwards to the south. While local trains were running only up to Ambernath, several long-distance trains on the route had to be diverted via the Panvel-Karjat route.
Mumbai-Solapur Vande Bharat Express, Mumbai-Bhubaneswar Konark Express, Mumbai-Hyderabad Express, and Udaipur-Mysore Express were among at least ten long-distance trains that pass through the region were routed through the alternate route.
"Central Railway's traffic was affected since 10:10 in the morning when agitators occupied railway tracks at Badlapur station. We have been continuously in communication with the agitators to at least relocate or vacate the tracks so that train services could be normally run and the commuters will not be inconvenienced. Till now we have only been able to run trains between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus up to Ambernath and services between Ambernath and Karjat are completely suspended," said Swapnil Nila, CPRO of Central Railway.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has ordered a probe into the alleged sexual assault and a special investigation team (SIT) has been formed to investigate the case.
"The incident that has happened is serious. The state government has formed an SIT, and an IG-level woman officer will head the SIT. We will try that this case is investigated immediately, a chargesheet is prepared and the case is taken up in a fast-track court, so that the victims get justice," said Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Furthermore, he has ordered the Thane Police Commissioner to immediately suspend the senior police inspector, assistant sub-inspector and head constable of Badlapur Police station, who delayed action initially.
"The public outrage over the horrific Badlapur incident is a clear message — violence against women and children will not be tolerated," said Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora.
Listing the steps the Maharashtra government had taken thus far following the incident, he mentioned the accused had been arrested, the school principal, class teacher and attendants suspended, police officers who delayed action had been removed from duty and education minister Deepak Kesarkar was on the ground in Badlapur.