Internet services at Badlapur in Maharashtra’s Thane district were suspended a day after a massive protest over alleged sexual abuse of two kindergarten girls, and 72 persons have been arrested in connection with the violence during the stir, officials said.
At least 17 city police personnel and around eight railway cops were injured in the incidents of stone-pelting at the railway station and other parts of Badlapur during the protest on Tuesday, they said. Police have been deployed in large numbers across Badlapur to maintain law and order, and the situation in the town is back to normal.
Rajya Sabha Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi slammed Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for calling protests protests politically motivated in post on X she tweeted
And here we go. Not locals is the excuse, politically motivated is their alibi.
Pathetic cowardly words. pic.twitter.com/su1ojbwLXS— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) August 21, 2024
Entire Badlapur town virtually came to a standstill on Tuesday after thousands of protesters blocked railway tracks at the station and stormed the school building, where sexual abuse of two girls by the school sweeper took place last week.
The protesters hurled stones at police personnel and vandalised the school building during the protest. The police cane-charged the protesters to disperse them and clear the tracks for train movement.
Talking to PTI, DCP Sudhakar Pathare said on Wednesday that internet services in the town have been suspended in the wake of the protest and subsequent violence.
“The internet services will be restored after taking a review of the situation in the town,” he said. Most schools in the town remained shut on Wednesday, local people said.
Amid the ongoing protests over the alleged sexual assault of two fourth-grade girls by a school attendant in Maharashtra’s Badlapur, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has called for a Maharashtra Bandh on August 24.
In a meeting that was called for the discussion on seat sharing for the upcoming assembly elections on Wednesday, the MVA decided to call for a strike over the incident.
Speaking on the matter, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, “We had come here to discuss seat sharing but then we thought that we would not discuss seat sharing and instead discuss the law and order in the state after the Badlapur incident. The people of Maharashtra are agitated and FIRs have been registered against those who protested. We have decided that on August 24, MVA will call for Maharashtra Bandh over the Badlapur incident.”
NCP-SCP leader Jitendra Awhad said, “Yesterday, FIRs have been filed against 300 people protesting against the Badlapur incident… This is an unconstitutional government… The culprits are increasing and against this Maharashtra Bandh is important.”
Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat also spoke on the matter and said, “We had a meeting today and on August 24 in which we called for Bandh. The Badlapur incident is serious.”
Nationalist Congress Party (SCP) MP Supriya Sule, along with party workers, staged a protest against the Maharashtra government over the alleged sexual assault of two minor girls at a school in Badlapur.
Sule said that according to the government’s data, crime has increased in Maharashtra.
“Crime has increased in Maharashtra and this is not something I am saying but the government data mentions. Be it the Porsche case or drugs in the state. Crime against women has increased a lot in Maharashtra…The issue (Badlapur) incident is sensitive. The way it was ignored is saddening. When the people were on the roads, the government was awakened,” she said.
“After the elections (Lok Sabha), the sisters immediately became ‘Ladki’ (dear) for the government and started giving Rs 1500 for the Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana. I saw on all your channels that a woman said they do not want this government’s Rs 1500, we will give them Rs 2000 but keep our sisters safe,” the NCP SCP MP added.
