11-Hour Wait For FIR On School Sexual Assault: How Police Insensitivity Pushed Badlapur Over The Edge

Badlapur saw chaotic scenes on Tuesday as the anger over the sexual assault of two four-year-old kindergarten students on the school premises led to 10-hour protests at the spot and railway station, bringing train services to a halt and leading the police to forcibly remove the protesters from the tracks.

What caused the anger to boil over? While most protesters demanded capital punishment for the arrested accused, the insensitivity of the police – there were claims that the girls’ parents were made to wait for around 11 hours – triggered fears of a cover-up, thus causing the outrage.

The protest, which culminated in a police lathi charge, highlighted the growing anger in the community over the handling of the case. Despite the suspension of three police officials for delaying the filing of the First Information Report (FIR), the incident has sparked a broader discussion about the urgent need to train and sensitise police personnel to handle such sensitive matters.

THE DELAY: ‘TIMING KEY TO GATHER EVIDENCE’

According to the FIR, the incident took place between 9 am and 12 pm on August 13. The parents of the two girls took them to a doctor, got in touch, and informed the police about the incident on August 16. They alleged the FIR was filed 11 hours later — around 9 pm on August 16.

The accused cleaning staff member, Akshay Shinde, 23, was arrested on August 17 for allegedly abusing the girls in the school toilet. The school management has suspended the principal, a class teacher and a female attendant.

Senior advocate Jayesh Vani warned that the delay in registering a case could have serious consequences. “In cases like these, circumstantial and medical evidence are crucial. But because the complaint was lodged so late, it will be difficult to gather medical evidence. The delay also gave the accused a chance to destroy important circumstantial evidence at the crime scene. Without CCTV footage, it will be a major challenge for the police to build a strong case," he said.

Some even suggest that the police may have initially tried to protect the school management. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chief Priyank Kanoongo expressed strong disapproval of how the case was handled. “The school’s attitude was insensitive. They tried to suppress the case, and the police failed to register an FIR in time. A team from NCPCR will be sent to the spot," said Kanoongo.

An editorial in Shiv Sena UBT’s mouthpiece Saamana also raised serious concerns, questioning the delay and speculating whether it was done to protect someone connected to the school, possibly due to political influence. The editorial hinted that as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member is associated with the school, the delay in registering the case might have been intentional.

NOT THE FIRST TIME

This case is the latest in a series of incidents that have put the Maharashtra Police Department under scrutiny. Recently, the police department was criticised for protecting the accused in a hit-and-run case in Pune.

The community’s demand for justice remains loud and clear, as the Maharashtra Police face growing pressure to ensure that such mishandling never happens again.