Mumbai, Aug 20
The Maharashtra government on Tuesday ordered the suspension of three police officials, including a senior police inspector, for alleged dereliction of duty in probing the sexual abuse of two girls at a school in Badlapur amid massive protests.
“The orders of immediate suspension of the senior police inspector, assistant sub-inspector and head constable attached to Badlapur police station for the dereliction of duty have been issued,” Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis posted on X.
The state government has already ordered the setting up of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged sexual abuse of two female students.
Earlier in the day, Fadnavis directed the Thane Police Commissioner to prepare a proposal to try the case in a fast-track court.
The opposition parties have alleged that the parents of the victim girls were made to wait for 11 hours at the Badlapur police station before taking their complaints.
Fadnavis on Tuesday said an inquiry led by a woman IPS officer has been ordered into an incident of alleged abuse of two school girls in Badlapur in Thane district.
Talking to reporters here, he said the state government has appointed Arti Singh, an inspector general-rank IPS officer, to conduct the inquiry.
“It will be our endeavour to inquire into the incident at the earliest. We want to file the chargesheet in this case as soon as possible and place the matter before a fast-track court for hearing,” he said.
“Our police department will make complete efforts to get such a barbaric and inhuman act punished immediately,” the deputy chief minister added.
He slammed the Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) working president, Supriya Sule, and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray for allegedly politicising the issue.
“It is unfortunate that the opposition seeks to gain political benefit out of such incidents.
The opposition is devoid of any empathy. The politics of the opposition is coming to the fore,” the senior BJP leader said.
He said Thackeray should behave like a statesman and not stoop too low and indulge in politics on a sensitive issue of sexual abuse.
