Badlapur sexual assault accused sent to judicial custody in 2nd case

The accused being taken to court on August 26. Pic/Navneet Barhate

Akshay Shinde, the attendant accused of sexually assaulting two four-year-old girl students in a Badlapur school, was produced in the Kalyan court on Friday in connection with the second case registered against him. He was remanded in judicial custody and taken to Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai. The accused, 24, had been brought to the court by the special investigation team (SIT) probing the case amid high security.

Initially, a single FIR was filed, on August 16, at the Badlapur East police station based on the statement of the first victim's mother. This FIR mentioned the sexual assault of another girl. "Shinde was arrested on August 21 and the police booked the school management, too," said a police officer.

Akshay Shinde, the accused

Badlapur then witnessed massive protests, including a rail roko lasting almost 10 hours, where citizens sought capital punishment for the accused and strict action against the school management. Following this, the SIT, headed by IPS officer Aarti Singh, was formed and began investigating the case. The second FIR was registered last week after the team visited the second victim's home, spoke to her family and recorded a fresh statement.

"The SIT on Friday produced the accused in the court in connection with the second FIR and he was remanded in judicial custody and sent to Taloja jail," said a police officer. Officers privy to the investigation told mid-day they will likely carry out the identification parade soon. "Hence the police may seek custody of the accused in the future," a source said. Over the past few days, the SIT team in the past few days has taken down statements from the victims' families and school and hospital authorities to create a watertight case.