Probe in Badlapur sexual assaults case complete, SIT disbanded: State informs HC

Maharashtra's SIT has completed its inquiry into the Badlapur school sexual assaults, filing charges against the accused and school trustees.

MUMBAI: The special investigation team (SIT) probing the Badlapur school sexual assaults case has completed its inquiry and has been disbanded, the Maharashtra government informed the Bombay high court on Tuesday.

Probe in Badlapur sexual assaults case complete, SIT disbanded: State informs HC

Public prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar told a bench of justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Prithviraj Chavan, which is monitoring the police investigation into the incident, that the SIT had filed two separate charge sheets regarding the case in a trial court. The SIT had filed a separate charge sheet based on each of the two survivors’ complaints.

Venegaonkar told the high court that the charge sheets were filed against Akshay Shinde, a contractual cleaner at the Badlapur school who was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing two four-year-old students in the girls’ bathroom in August, and the trustees of the school, who allegedly failed to report the incident to the police. Shinde was shot dead by the police in September in “retaliatory firing”.

The state government had formed the SIT, headed by senior IPS officer Aarti Singh, to take over the investigation from the Badlapur police, who allegedly did not take prompt action after being informed of the sexual abuse. The incident had led to massive protests in Badlapur and across the state.

“The lady senior police inspector who refused to register the FIR has been suspended, and her increments for the next two years have been stopped. The constables concerned have been given a stern warning,” Venegaonkar told the court.

Advocate Kavisha Khanna, appearing for the family of the survivors, told the high court that although the girls have been moved to another school, the Maharashtra government hasn’t issued an official order regarding it and the fees from the previous school have not yet been refunded to the families. The court directed the state to take a look into the matter.

Meanwhile, the Shinde family’s lawyer, advocate Amit Katarnaware, told the court that he was not able to contact the family and wasn’t sure of their whereabouts. Shinde’s parents have filed a petition in the high court claiming that his death was a cold-blooded murder committed by people in uniform. The bench ordered the police to search for the Shinde family and produce them before the court, through video conferencing if necessary, on the next hearing date.