E-Paper
‘NCPCR team will probe matter,’ says chairperson Priyank Kanoongo on Badlapur case
Two four-year-old girls were allegedly sexually abused by a male staffer of their school at Badlapur in Maharashtra's Thane, triggering massive protests.
A team from NCPCR (National Commission for Protection of Child Rights) will conduct an inquiry into the alleged sexual abuse of two four-year old girls by a male staffer of their school at Badlapur in Maharashtra's Thane district, Priyank Kanoongo, chairperson, NCPCR, said on Tuesday.
Also Read | Badlapur protests: Uddhav seeks ‘Shakti Bill’ passage, Sharad camp demands probe
He alleged that the school authorities tried to ‘bury’ the case.
“The school's attitude was insensitive. They tried to suppress the case. The concerned police station did not register an FIR in due time. A team (of NCPCR) will be sent to the spot,” Kanoongo told news agency ANI, and made the same announcement on his handle on X (formerly Twitter).
Further, Kanoongo described as a ‘positive step’ the removal of police officers in the case by Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio in the state.
“Action should be taken against the school administration or those responsible for not registering the FIR and suppressing the case,” the NCPCR chief stated.
On X, he also declared that he will ‘personally monitor’ the probe by the team of the country's apex child rights body.
His statement came amid massive protests in Badlapur; on Tuesday morning, thousands converged on the town's railway station and blocked tracks, halting services on the Kalyan–Karjat section of the Central Railway.
The blockade is yet to be lifted, with protestors demanding that the accused, 23-year-old Akshay Shinde, be ‘hanged.’ A member of the school's cleaning staff, he was appointed on August 1 on a contractual basis.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde announced that the government will appoint a special public prosecutor and fast-track the case.
The incident comes amid nationwide protests over the rape-murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata on August 9.
