Sexual abuse of girls: School principal among 3 suspended; parents stage rail blockade over incident

Thane: The management of a school at Badlapur in Maharashtra's Thane district has suspended its principal and two staffers in connection with the alleged sexual abuse of two girls, while angry parents of the school children have been staging a blockade since Tuesday morning at the local railway station seeking stringent action against the accused. Hundreds of irate parents and local citizens came onto the tracks at the Badlapur railway station around 8 am and blocked the path of trains to draw the administration's attention to their demand. The protest has affected the movement of trains on Up and Down routes since around 8 am.

On August 17, the police arrested a school attendant at the school for allegedly abusing two girls studying in the kindergarten, aged three and four years. As per the complaint, he abused the girls in the toilet of the school.

The girls had told their parents that the attendant touched them inappropriately, following which a complaint was filed and a case was registered against him under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. He was later arrested, the police said.

In the wake of the incident, the management of the school said on Monday late evening that it has suspended the principal, a class teacher and a female attendant, holding them responsible for it.

The school management also tendered an apology over the episode. It said it has blacklisted the firm which has been given the contract for housekeeping. Vigilance on the school premises will be increased in the wake of the incident, the school authorities said.

The Badlapur police also transferred the police station in-charge for allegedly failing to act when the parents approached the police, an official said. This morning, a large group of the parents of the children studying in the school gathered outside the institution to demand strict action against those guilty. After some time, carrying banners and placards, protesters, including a large number of women, came on to the tracks and blocked trains. They shouted slogans to demand action against the guilty.

The police and other authorities are finding it tough to control the situation. Efforts were on to pacify the protesters. Central Railway chief public relations officer Swapnil Nila said the agitation was going on at the railway station in connection with an incident in a Badlapur school.

A call for Badlapur bandh has been given by several organisations to protest against the incident. Local MLA Kisan Kathore took up the issue with the authorities, and demanded strong action against the accused and the police personnel who failed to take timely action.