Badlapur. Protesters took to the streets on Tuesday over the molestation of two innocent girls studying in Adarsh Vidyalaya in Badlapur, adjacent to Mumbai. Angry people protested outside the school on Tuesday morning and gheraoed the railway station at 10 am. Thousands of residents of Badlapur took to the streets since Tuesday morning. Train operations were stopped at Badlapur railway station and not a single train ran on this route from morning to evening. The matter was so heated that Minister Girish Mahajan reached Badlapur railway station to consult with the protesters. However, the protesters rejected his request to stop the agitation. During this, Girish Mahajan informed the protesters about the steps being taken by the government. Minister Girish Mahajan stayed at Badlapur station for about an hour to talk to the protesters. He continuously tried to communicate with the protesters through the microphone. But the protesters rejected his request to stop the agitation. The protesters demand that the accused be brought here and hanged. Finally, Girish Mahajan left the station premises after talking to the protesters for an hour. After coming out, he talked to the media. Stating that there were placards of Mukhyamantri Ladli Behan Yojana in the protest, Girish Mahajan alleged that some people are politically motivated. “Now what can I say on that. Some people are standing here with the board of Meri Ladli Behan. These people are politically motivated. Let us tell you that the name of a sanitation worker had come up in the alleged sexual harassment case of a girl in the school. The police have arrested the accused Akshay Shinde. The school principal, class teacher and 2 assistants have been suspended.
When the protesters were not withdrawing their protest till evening, the police decided to take direct action. The police used force to push back the crowd present on the railway track. The police lathicharged to disperse the crowd. After the lathicharge by the police, the protesters pelted stones. There was a fierce clash between the police and the protesters at Badalpur railway station in which dozens of people were injured. After this, the police has started arresting the protesters.
Like local trains, long distance express trains were also completely disrupted due to the Rail Roko movement. Central Railway has informed that 40 local trains have been cancelled. 12 mail express services have been diverted due to the Badlapur movement. So far, about 12 mail express trains have been diverted. The route of Koyna Express has been diverted and it is being brought from Badlapur to Kalyan. After Badlapur, the train left for its destination via Karjat via Diva and Panvel. On the other hand, about 40 local trains between Ambarnath to Karjat-Khopoli were partially cancelled. As passengers are going home, this number is likely to increase rapidly. Services from CSMT to Ambarnath and Kasara are running smoothly. Additional buses were requested to run for passengers between Kalyan and Karjat. Assistance was requested from the State Transport for the arrangement of 100 buses, in which about 55 buses have been put into service so far for the convenience of the passengers.
On this shameful incident that happened with the girl in Badlapur school, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the culprits will not be spared. He said that an SIT has been formed in this case. We are also going to take action against the school where this incident happened. He said that he is taking this incident seriously and is in the process of taking the case forward rapidly.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered an inquiry. After this, an SIT has been formed to investigate the matter under the leadership of senior IPS Aarti Singh. Along with this, Thane Police Commissioner Ashutosh Dumbere has also instructed the Badalpur police station to immediately prepare a proposal and submit the case to the fast track court. According to the police, the accused was arrested as soon as the matter came to light, but the family members say that the school management should come forward and apologize in this regard. Along with this, the safety of the girl students inside the school should be guaranteed. The family members allege that the girl students are not safe in this school. Even four days after the incident, no concrete action has been taken by the school management in this matter. It is alleged that two innocent girl students of the school were molested in the toilet by a cleaning worker of the school itself. The police have arrested the accused along with his other accomplices.