Maharashtra state congress president Nana Patole on Wednesday claimed that the school in Badlapur where alleged sexual assault of two kindergarten girl students took place was associated with BJP and RSS and the CCTV footage from the school is missing. He alleged that an attempt to suppress the case was underway in order to protect school's reputation.
The MVA parties have given a Maharashtra Bandh call on August 24 to protest the shocking incident and said that it had tarnished Maharashtra's image.
The state government has announced a special investigation team probe into the incident led by Inspector General of Police Arti Singh. The Eknath Shinde government wants to appoint Ujwal Nikam as special public prosecutor to handle the case but MVA has taken strong objection stating that Nikam is a BJP member as he contested recent LS election on BJP ticket.
The accused, Adarsh Shinde, was employed at Adarsh Vidya Mandir where he allegedly sexually assaulted two girls aged 4.
Meanwhile railway services to Badlapur, on Mumbai-Pune rail route, resumed around 9 pm on Tuesday night, after a 10 hour long agitation by people from Badlapur.
According to Patole, the incident in Badlapur has once again brought the serious issue of the safety of women and girls in the state to the forefront. As a result, a discussion on seat sharing at the Mahavikas Aghadi meeting was cancelled and instead, a discussion on the increasing incidents of violence against women and their safety was held. The meeting was attended by Congress, Shiv Sena UBT and NCP (SP) leaders.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Patole expressed his anger over the Badlapur incident, stating that the BJP alliance government is drunk on power and doesn't care about anything going on in the state. The number of crimes against women in the state has increased significantly, but the government is in a state of complacency. Big events are being held to distribute Rs 1500 under the "Ladki Bahin" scheme, but the safety of sisters is not being ensured. The situation in the state is that of total anarchy, there is no law and order, no government, no home minister.
The role of the police in the Badlapur incident has also come under the scanner. The mother of the victim, who went to file a complaint, was made to sit in the police station for more than 10 hours. It raises the question of under whose pressure the police are working and who the government is trying to protect, Patole said.
Despite a large public movement in Badlapur demanding strict action against the culprit, there was an attempt to suppress the protest as well. Incidents of child abuse are also increasing in the state. The BJP alliance government is extremely inefficient and corrupt. To give a wake-up call to the government, a Maharashtra bandh has been called on August 24. All constituent parties of the Mahavikas Aghadi will participate in this bandh. Patole also urged doctors, lawyers, and parents to join this bandh to raise their voices against the government and ensure justice for the victim's family in Badlapur.