Maharashtra protest over sexual abuse of minors; Badlapur tracks blocked
Badlapur railway station against the alleged sexual assault of two four-year-old girls at a local school. The crowd sat on tracks for several hours, paralysing Central Railway traffic and demanding custody of the accused. They were protesting the delay in filing of an FIR by the police.
The rail roko protest led to the diversion of 12 long-distance trains and suspension of local train services on the Ambernath-Karjat section of Central Railway. The protesters were demanding that the accused be handed over to them so that they could hang him in public. One of the reasons for the anger was the response of the Badlapur police.
REASON FOR PROTEST
The incident is said to have occurred at Badlapur School on August 12-13, when a 23-year-old newly hired male cleaning staff was said to have sexually assaulted the girls in washroom. While the parents tried to file a police complaint at the police station, senior police inspector Shubhada Shitole allegedly delayed filing an FIR for 12 hours and only relented after pressure was brought in. The accused has been arrested.
The flare up
The incident flared up on Tuesday when the parents of the two children began protesting outside the school. A mob gathered and began shouting slogans and vandalised the school. Police resorted to a lathi charge as well as used tear gas on the protesters. Protesters retaliated by throwing stones on the police personnel. Several men and women were injured in the protest after the lathi charge. But, the crowd did not relent. Instead, they moved
