Badlapur residents seek action amid child safety concerns after sexual assault case

Badlapur residents fear for children's safety after protests over alleged sexual assault, sparking political blame game and unrest.

Badlapur is slowly returning to normalcy after three days of protests and unrest following the alleged sexual assault of two minor girls in a local school. However, fear and concern for children’s safety linger among residents.

Posters with the slogan ‘#MychildNotforPolitics’, coined by an alert resident, have come up across the city in Maharashtra’s Thane district, with some claiming that it is the “work of politicians”.

“People are still in trauma and concerned about their children’s safety after the incident in an old and trusted school in Badlapur,” said a 56-year-old shopkeeper at the Badlapur railway station, adding that “everyone has tried to capitalise on the unfortunate incident”.

The city had come to a standstill on August 20 after thousands of residents staged a massive protest over the police’s “delay” in registering an FIR against the accused, a member of the school’s cleaning staff, and the school “not reporting” the incident.

The protest sparked a political blame game, with the ruling Mahayuti calling the agitation “politically motivated” and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi criticising the government for its “negligence”.

Residents are now anxious about sending their children to the school in the Kulgaon area, spread over 16 acres and running for the past 75 years. “We are scared to send our daughters to school and worried about them missing their academic year,” said a woman with an eight-year-old daughter.

“A class with a capacity of 40 is enrolling 80 students, where is the protocol being followed here? There are no security measures, just one guard posted at the gate. What will a poor man like me do? The fee is minimal here,” said an autorickshaw driver, whose child studies in Class IV in the school. He says the annual fee is ₹1,500 and many students came from poor sections of society.