Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assured Tuesday that the Badlapur school incident will be investigated swiftly, with the case being processed in a fast-track court. Senior lawyer Ujwal Nikam has been appointed as the special public prosecutor.

Fadnavis also directed the Thane Police Commissioner to suspend the senior police inspector, assistant sub-inspector, and head constable of the Badlapur police station following accusations of delayed action in this critical case.

Additionally, Fadnavis announced that a woman IPS officer will lead the inquiry into the alleged abuse of two schoolgirls in Badlapur.

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Talking to reporters, Fadnavis announced that the state government has appointed Arti Singh, an inspector general-rank Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, to lead the inquiry. He emphasised, “It will be our endeavour to inquire into the incident at the earliest. We want to file the chargesheet in this case as soon as possible and place the matter before a fast-track court for hearing,”

The deputy chief minister assured,”Our police department will make complete efforts to get such a barbaric and inhuman act punished immediate. Fadnavis also slammed Supriya Sule, the Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) working president, and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, accusing them of politicizing the issue.

“It is unfortunate that the opposition seeks to gain political benefit out of such incidents. The opposition is devoid of any empathy. The politics of the opposition is coming to the fore,” the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said. He urged Thackeray to act with the dignity of a statesman and avoid exploiting the sensitive issue of sexual abuse for political gain.

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Sexual assault in school washroom

On August 12 and 13, two girls were allegedly sexually assaulted by a cleaning staff member in the school washroom. There was reportedly a delay in the police response, with the FIR only being filed on August 16 and the accused subsequently arrested. The cleaning staff member had been hired on a contractual basis by the school.

Following the incident, parents are calling for stricter safety measures and enhanced supervision to prevent future occurrences. Residents are also demanding more stringent action against the accused.