Badlapur School Sexual Abuse: The Girl’s Tale of Horror

On Tuesday, Badlapur railway station in Maharashtra's Thane district was the site of a large-scale protest, with thousands of demonstrators blocking train tracks in response to allegations that a school sweeper had sexually assaulted two four-year-old girls in the washroom. The protest caused significant disruptions to local train services and led to the diversion of several long-distance trains.

As protests intensified, the school suspended the principal and three staff members. Meanwhile, citizens have called for the death penalty for the accused, who is a school cleaner. In response, the Thane police deployed heavy forces, and Government Railway Police (GRP) Commissioner Ravindra Shisve attempted to calm the crowd by promising stringent action against the accused. Despite these assurances, the protestors remained steadfast and continued their rail blockade.

On August 12-13, two four-year-old girls enrolled in pre-primary classes at a prominent co-ed school in Badlapur were allegedly sexually assaulted by Akshay Shinde, a 23-year-old male cleaner. The assaults reportedly took place in the girls' toilet, which lacked female staff supervision. Shinde had been hired on a contractual basis starting August 1, 2024. The situation came to light when one of the girls complained of pain and told her parents about the abuse. Upon discovering that a second girl had also been allegedly assaulted, the parents filed a complaint on the night of August 16. This led to the arrest of the accused.

According to the FIR, the incident occurred between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. on August 13. On the same day, the family of one of the girls became concerned after learning from a member of the other child's family that they intended to file a sexual assault complaint. The complaint revealed that the girl seemed scared and informed her parents that an older male at school, whom she called "dada" (Marathi for elder brother), had undressed her and touched her inappropriately.