Badlapur sexual assault case: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday stated that the protest at Badlapur in Thane district over the alleged sexual abuse case of two kindergarten girls was politically motivated and aimed at maligning the state government. While addressing the issue, he stated that the majority of protesters were outsiders. Talking to reporters, Shinde targeted the opposition and said those doing politics over the incident should be ashamed.
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- "The protest was politically motivated because the protesters were not local residents. The local residents who were part of the protest could be counted on fingers," he said.
- The chief minister added that state minister Girish Mahajan agreed to all demands of the protestors but they were still not ready to relent. "This means they just wanted to malign the government," he said.
- The development comes as massive protest broke out in Badlapur town on Tuesday as angry parents, local residents and others blocked railway tracks and ransacked the school where two kindergarten girl students were sexually abused by a male attendant last week.
- According to the chief minister, some protesters were carrying placards mentioning the 'Ladki Bahin Yojana', his government's flagship financial assistance scheme for women.
- The placards said they did not want the monthly sum of Rs 1,500 but protection for their girls.
- The protestors blocked the rail route which led to suspension of rail services between Badlapur to Ambernath for over 10 hours.
- "Does anyone protest like this? The stomachache the opposition is suffering from due to this scheme is visible from yesterday's protest," Shinde said.
- In the meantime, a local court on Wednesday extended till August 26 the police custody of the man arrested for allegedly sexually abusing two girls at a school in Badlapur town of Maharashtra's Thane district. The accused, who was employed as an attendant at the school where the incident took place last week, was produced before a magistrate at Kalyan in the district this morning amid tight police security.
- The court ordered the extension of his police custody till August 26, following which he was taken away by the police in a van, a senior official said. The police had arrested the accused on August 17.
(With Inputs from PTI)
