The chairperson of the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MSCPCR), Susieben Shah, has condemned the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Badlapur for allegedly attempting to cover up a sexual abuse case involving two young girls. Shah claims the school administration did not support the victims’ families in filing a police complaint and instead tried to obscure the truth.
The case centers around accusations that Akshay Shinde, a 23-year-old cleaner at the school, sexually assaulted two four-year-old girls. Despite the assaults reportedly occurring within ten days of Shinde’s employment, the school failed to report the incidents, which were first brought to their attention on August 12.
Shah said, “When the child protection unit took the complaint to the police, the school management focused on covering up the situation rather than addressing it. I asked them why they weren’t invoking the POCSO Act against the school administration.”
The school allegedly dismissed the parents’ concerns, suggesting the assaults might have been carried out by an outsider. The parents were reportedly kept waiting for 11 hours at the Badlapur police station before their complaints were acted upon.
Frustrated by the delays, the parents and local residents staged a protest that included blocking railway tracks at Badlapur station, which disrupted the central railway network for several hours.
Shah criticized the school for not reporting the abuse immediately, which she believes exacerbated the situation. “The delay in contacting the police created a chaotic scenario. The principal should have acted sooner rather than deferring to school management.”
In response to the alleged mishandling of the case, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has announced a statewide bandh on August 24. Vijay Wadettiwar, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, confirmed that MVA allies will join the protest to demand justice for the victims and accountability for the authorities involved.
