01 October,2024 04:06 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Bombay High Court. File Pic
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday, while hearing a suo motu (on its own) petition, questioned the police for its inability to apprehend the accused school trustees.
The court gave an earful to the Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the Badlapur school sexual assault case, for its inability to apprehend the two accused school trustees, reported the PTI.
A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan, which was hearing the petition, questioned as to how the police that usually go to any extent to nab an accused, are unable to arrest them in this case, according to the PTI.
The court in August took suo motu cognisance of the case.
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Two girls - aged four and five - were sexually assaulted inside the washroom of a school in Badlapur town of Maharashtra's Thane district by a male attendant.
The accused, Akshay Shinde, was subsequently arrested. He was killed by police in a shootout on September 23.
The police had said that he was killed in a retaliatory firing after he allegedly snatched a weapon of a police officer while he was being transported for an investigations in an another case.
The Maharashtra government in August said an SIT, headed by an Inspector General of Police-rank officer, will probe the alleged sexual abuse of two girl students of the school in Badlapur.
Two trustees of the school - the chairman and secretary- were also named as accused in the case.
The duo has been booked under various provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for not reporting the incident to the police immediately and negligence, the PTI reported.
Advocate General Birendra Saraf informed the bench that the two accused are still absconding and have not been apprehended, the news agency reported.
The duo has filed for anticipatory bail in the Bombay High Court.
"The police goes to any extent to nab an accused. How come they have not been able to apprehend these two? Are they waiting for them to get anticipatory bail?" the court said.
Saraf said the police were taking all steps to apprehend the duo.
The court posted the matter for further hearing on October 23.
(with PTI inputs)
