Badlapur sexual assault: Protesters in Badlapur were locals, not outsiders, says Sanjay Raut

Sanjay Raut. File Pic

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has said that those who had protested at Badlapur against the alleged Badlapur sexual assault on two kindergarten girls at a school were locals and not outsiders as claimed by the Maharashtra government, reported news agency PTI.

In a post on X late on Wednesday night, Raut shared a copy of the police remand application of the people arrested for rioting at Badlapur station which said that most of the protesters were locals. In the post, Raut also tagged Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

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On Tuesday, hundreds of protesters blocked the railway tracks at Badlapur station over the alleged Badlapur sexual assault on the two 4-year-old girls by a male attendant at a local school. The police had to resort to lathi charge after the protesters pelted stones.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had said on Wednesday that the protest at Badlapur station over the alleged Badlapur sexual assault on the two KG students was politically motivated with an aim to malign the state government and those involved in it were mostly outsiders.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday targeted Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, saying those who feel there is politics behind Badlapur protest over the alleged Badlapur sexual assault on two minor girls are either abnormal or protectors of the culprits.

Thackeray was referring to CM Shinde's claim that the protest was politically motivated and most of the protesters had come from outside.

He said there is no political motive behind the bandh called by the opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on August 24. The bandh is aimed at creating awareness that the security of women should be a priority and also awakening the government.

He said the protest was not like the much-publicised Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, which he claimed has been rolled out keeping the upcoming assembly polls in mind. It is the manifestation of anger, he said.

Thackeray wondered what the use of Ladki Bahin Yojana is when sisters in the state are not safe.

"Those who feel there is politics behind the Badlapur protest are either abnormal or protectors of the culprits," the Sena (UBT) chief said at a news conference. He also slammed the government for registering cases against the protesters.

(With inputs from PTI)