Police on Tuesday used a lathi charge to disperse thousands of protesters who had blocked the Badlapur railway station for more than 12 hours. The demonstration was triggered by allegations of sexual assault involving two four-year-old girls last week at a school run by Adarsh Vidya Prasarak Sanstha. The protesters demanded immediate action against the prime suspect, Akshay Shinde, a contract sweeper at the school, who has been arrested in connection with the case.
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Crowds gathered inside and outside the railway station, blocking roads and surrounding the school premises, refusing to disperse despite repeated pleas from the Thane Police and Central Railway authorities. The rail services, which had been paralyzed due to the protest, are expected to resume shortly after police cleared the area.
During the police operation to clear the tracks, some protesters pelted stones, injuring a few police personnel. The police eventually resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the crowd, resulting in minor injuries to several protesters and damage to a few vehicles.
Efforts to pacify the protesters, including intervention by Rural Development Minister Girish Mahajan, were unsuccessful. The protesters remained adamant in their demand for the immediate hanging of the accused.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) said that it will send a team to Thane to investigate the matter. NCPCR Chairperson Priyank Kanungo criticized the school and local police for their handling of the case, citing delays in filing the First Information Report (FIR) and accusing the school of attempting to suppress the incident.
The protest led to the cancellation of over two dozen suburban train services and the diversion of several long-distance trains, including the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus-Bhubaneshwar Konark Express, CSMT-Hyderabad Express, and Pune-Nizamuddin Duronto Express, according to Central Railway authorities.
Earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has ordered a high-level probe into the incident, and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis appointed SIT head Inspector General Arti Singh to lead the investigation.