Badlapur sexual abuse case: police file 4 FIRs against 500 protesters, arrest 66; internet suspended

Sudhakar Pathare, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Badlapur said the arrested suspects have been charged with sections of rioting, damaging public property, and causing hurt to public servants, etc. “We appeal to people to not believe in any rumours, and contact police officers if they come across any sensitive information,” said Pathare.

Authorities have also suspended internet services in Badlapur since Tuesday evening to ensure rumours are not spread on social media. They added internet services will remain suspended on Wednesday as well.

Manoj Patil, DCP, GRP said train services, which were disrupted for 10 hours on Tuesday, are running smoothly amid police security arrangements.

Thousands of people had gathered at Badlapur railway station and stopped local trains on Tuesday as they protested the sexual abuse of two four-year-old girls by a sweeper at their school in Badlapur last week. The accused, Akshay Shinde, has been arrested by the police.

The protesters also demonstrated on the streets of Badlapur, obstructing major roads and highways, and throwing at the police and the school premises where the sexual assault occurred. They held banners rejecting the Ladki Bahin Yojana recently launched by the Maharashtra Government, and demanded safer conditions for women.

In the evening, the police resorted to lathicharge to disperse the crowd of protesters as many of them pelted stones in which over a dozen policemen, including senior officers, got injured.