Badlapur minor rape case: Accused sent to 14-day judicial custody

Thane (Maharashtra), Aug 26 (IANS) A Kalyan Court has sent the sole accused in the Badlapur alleged rape case of two little girls, Akshay Shinde, to 14 days of judicial custody, lawyers said here on Monday.

Shinde, 23, was produced before the court under tight security after his second police remand of three days ended in the case involving two nursery girls aged 4 and 6 studying in the Adarsh Vidya Prasarak Sanstha (AVPS) school. The two were allegedly abused in the school toilet on August 12-13.

The accused was arrested on August 17 and sent to police custody which was extended on August 26 even as all lawyers in the Kalyan Bar Association have resolved not to defend him in the case that has created a massive national furore.

Akshay Shinde appeared before Special Women Judge V. A. Patrawale, who heard the matter where the Public Prosecutor informed that charges under POCSO had been added in the case, and then remanded the accused to judicial custody for a fortnight.

Simultaneously, the police have also booked the AVPS President, Secretary and school principal in the same case.

Following massive public outrage and protest in Badlapur town on August 19, the Maharashtra government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the heinous alleged double crime, suspended the AVPS board of trustees and appointed an Administrator to manage the affairs for now.

The government has also initiated a series of other initiatives for the safety of school children like compulsory installation of CCTVs, only women support staff for toilets or changing rooms, full background check of all staffers appointed to various positions, etc. The Maharashtra Congress General Secretary, Sachin Sawant has demanded a full security audit of all schools in the state to ascertain if relevant infrastructure and safety measures are in place or not, as several similar incidents have come to the fore in the state in the past couple weeks, and Mahila Congress President Sandhya Savvalakhe has formed district-wide Women’s Justice Committees to help women facing atrocities of all kinds.

–IANS

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