Four-year-old girl molested by school van driver in Badlapur; accused arrested

THANE: A four-year-old girl, a student at a private English-medium school, was sexually abused by the driver of her school van on Thursday evening while she was being dropped home alone

THANE: A four-year-old girl, a student at a private English-medium school, was sexually abused by the driver of her school van on Thursday evening while she was being dropped home alone.

Four-year-old girl molested by school van driver in Badlapur; accused arrested

The accused driver has been arrested, and the child was taken to a hospital for medical examination, police said.

According to officers, the girl usually reaches home around 12:30pm, but on Thursday she was dropped off at 1:30pm. Upon arriving home, she appeared visibly terrified and remained silent initially. Later that evening, when questioned by her parents, she disclosed the abuse.

Her parents lodged a complaint at the Badlapur police station around 5:45 pm. Acting on their statement, police arrested the van driver the same day.

Senior police inspector Kishore Shinde said, “We have detained the van driver, and a case has been registered against him under charges of molestation and the POCSO Act.”

As news of the incident spread, angry residents damaged the school van in which the alleged offence occurred. Some local politicians gathered at the police station, demanding that the accused be prosecuted to the fullest extent of law.

Police officers said they are probing the ownership of the van to ascertain whether it was provided by the school or privately hired by parents.

The incident comes in the wake of a similar high-profile case in Badlapur in August 2024, where a school sweeper sexually abused two four-year-old girls on the premises. That case led to massive protests, including a ‘Rail Roko’ agitation, and the accused was later killed in a police encounter during transit from court to jail.