The chairperson of the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MSCPCR) on Wednesday criticised the handling of a sexual abuse case at a school in Badlapur, saying the school administration attempted to cover up the crime rather than supporting the victims' families in filing a police complaint.
MSCPCR chief Susieben Shah also stressed the need for stringent actions under 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.
Read: Rage spills on road, tracks after 4-year-old girls sexually assaulted
What's the Badlapur school case?
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, which reportedly occurred on separate days within 10 days of Shinde's employment, went unnoticed by the school authorities.
Despite being informed of the first assault on August 12, the school management did not report the incident to the police. Instead, they dismissed the parents' concerns by suggesting that the child could have been assaulted by an outsider.
{{/usCountry}}Despite being informed of the first assault on August 12, the school management did not report the incident to the police. Instead, they dismissed the parents' concerns by suggesting that the child could have been assaulted by an outsider.
{{/usCountry}}The parents of the victim girls were allegedly made to wait for 11 hours at Badlapur police station before the officials took note of their complaints.
Frustrated by the lack of response from both the school and the police, the parents, along with local residents, took to the streets and railway tracks, demanding justice. The protest, which began at the school, quickly escalated as demonstrators moved to block the railway tracks at Badlapur station, bringing the central railway suburban network to a standstill for several hours.
Shah said if the school management had promptly alerted the police, the chaotic situation in Badlapur could have been avoided. “The issue arises from the parents being made to wait for 11 hours.”
Despite being apprised of the alleged sexual attack, the principal “chose not to contact the police”. “Instead, she went to the school management,” Shah said, calling the episode a “terrible state of affairs”.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), meanwhile, has called for a “Maharashtra bandh” on August 24 to protest against the alleged sexual assault. Leader of opposition in the state assembly Vijay Wadettiwar said all MVA allies will participate in the bandh on August 24.
With PTI inputs