Thane nursery girls' sexual abuse: Parents made to wait 11 hours to file FIR
New Delhi/IBNS: The parents of a nursery girl student who was sexually assaulted in a Thane school said they came to know about the horrific crime after the parents of a fellow nursery student, who was also abused, told them they would file a police case.
The parents then took their child for a medical test, which confirmed sexual assault, they said in the first information report (FIR) filed with the police in Maharashtra's Thane district's Badlapur city.
What's more shocking as per the parents was the police's long delay in filing the FIR. While the sexual assault happened on August 13, the police filed the case only on August 16.
The parents were allegedly also made to wait for 11 hours before they were allowed to file the FIR, the Opposition parties have claimed.
"Atrocities are committed on a three-and-half years old girl, a four-year-old girl, and at the police station, they (parents) are made to wait for 11 hours when they seek to file a complaint... Is there any sensitivity left? I spoke to the police commissioner and told him that the woman police officer responsible for this delay must be suspended immediately," Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra assembly Vijay Wadettiwar alleged.
The two four-year-old girls told their parents that a "dada", referring to an unknown man, in the school sexually assaulted them.
A huge protest broke out in Thane over the incident as thousands of protesters had flocked to the local train station in Badlapur in the morning and blocked the movement of trains.
According to reports, the demonstrators blocked railways and vandalised the school after the incident came to light.
The Badlapur station reportedly changed to a war zone with a section of the protesters pelting stones at police.
Mumbai suburb Badlapur (Thane Distt) erupts in huge protests after two 3-year-old girls were sexually assaulted by a male cleaning staff member in their school's girls toilet. Accused arrested. Massive rail-roko. pic.twitter.com/IdOTO3TY33
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) August 20, 2024
The Maharashtra government formed a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the case of sexual abuse in the school amid outrage over the incident.
The police arrested the male cleaning staff member Akshay Shinde as the accused. He has been sent to a three-day police remand.
The government has reportedly suspended three cops over alleged dereliction of duty in the probe.
Speaking to India Today TV over the phone, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said, "I spoke to the Commissioner of Police in the morning and said the accused should be charged under the strictest sections. The case will be fast-tracked. The accused will be given the strictest punishment and, as people have demanded, we will seek capital punishment so that such incidents do not happen again."
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Chairperson Priyank Kanungo said: "Taking cognizance of the incident, has decided to send a team for investigation. I will personally monitor the investigation and ensure that all the guilty police officers who were negligent are punished."
The school administration has suspended the principal, the class teacher and the staff responsible for transporting the children, reported India Today.
The incident occurred at a time when severe protests and demonstrations are sweeping the nation following the rape and murder of a PG trainee doctor in Kolkata's state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
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