23 September,2024 04:26 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Pic/File
The chairman and secretary of a school in Maharashtra's Badlapur, where a male attendant allegedly sexually assaulted two girls, have moved the Bombay High Court seeking pre-arrest bail, reported the PTI.
A case has been registered against the duo under relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for not reporting the incident to the police immediately and for negligence.
They approached the high court after a special court denied them anticipatory bail.
Their pleas came up for hearing on Monday before a single bench of Justice R N Laddha, and the court posted the matter for October 1, according to the PTI.
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Two girls, aged four and five, were sexually assaulted inside the washroom of the school by a male attendant last month. The accused has been arrested.
The Badlapur police were initially probing the case, but the Maharashtra government set up a special investigation team (SIT) following a public outcry over serious lapses in the police investigation.
While the male attendant was arrested, the school's chairman and secretary have not been apprehended yet.
Last month, the high court took suo motu (on its own) cognisance of the case and is supervising the investigation.
Meanwhile, last week, the SIT had filed two chargesheets in separate cases of sexual assault that occurred at a school in Badlapur.
The chargesheets were submitted within 30 to 35 days after the incidents were reported.
The SIT presented the 500-page chargesheets for both cases at the special POSCO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) court in Kalyan.
The chargesheet was filed against the suspect accused of sexually assaulting the girl, including the headmaster and two staff members from the school.
The SIT has taken statements from approximately 20 key witnesses, including school staff, doctors, tehsil office officials, and forensic experts, strengthening the case against the accused.
A senior officer confirmed that the chargesheet had been filed and noted that statements from the victims and their parents had also been taken. The incidents occurred on August 12 and 13 in the school washroom. The matter came to light after one of the girls reported it to her parents, leading to a case being registered at the Badlapur East police station on August 16. The accused was arrested the following day, on August 17.
(with PTI inputs)
