Badlapur sexual assault: Trustees granted bail in first case; cops to seek custody in second

The trustees were taken to an Ulhasnagar hospital on Thursday as one of them said he suffered from high blood pressure. Pic/Navneet Barhate

The two school trustees arrested in connection with the Badlapur sexual assault incident were on Thursday produced in the Kalyan sessions court where they were granted bail in the first case registered after the alleged crime came to light. "They will be produced in court later in connection with the second case and the police will seek their custody," said a police officer. Locals and politicians, meanwhile have raised questions over the delay in the arrest of the trustees, who they claim, are hand-in-glove with the police. The accused, who were absconding for 44 days, were traced and detained by the Ulhasnagar police from Karjat on Wednesday night.

The police claimed that the trustees were involved as the parents of the students had often complained to the management but their complaints were not taken seriously. After this, the court took immediate note of the matter, ordering that a case be filed against the school chairman, secretary and others responsible.

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday expressed strong displeasure as the state government did not take immediate action on the matter. Subsequently, the process of arresting the trustees was swiftly initiated. A team comprising Badlapur police officers and Senior Police Inspector Ashok Koli of the Ulhasnagar Crime Branch under the guidance of Sachin Gore, the newly appointed DCP of Ulhasnagar, Circle 4, nabbed the trustees. One of the accused claimed he was suffering from high blood pressure at the time of his arrest. Therefore, he was taken to the government hospital in Ulhasnagar. However, by Thursday afternoon, both accused were produced in the Kalyan court.

Public prosecutor Ashwini Bhamre Patil, while arguing in court, said the trustees had appointed the prime accused Akshay Shinde, now deceased, without carrying out a background check. She also said CCTV footage had been tampered with and recordings from the day of the crime were not available. "The accused refused to appear for police interrogation even after being served three notices. This makes it clear that they are not cooperating with the investigation. Therefore, it is necessary to remand the accused in police custody," she said.

Advocate Chandrakant Sonawane, representing the accused, said the case was registered under Section 21 of the POCSO Act, which is bailable. He added that cameras were working but the recording in question was not available due to a technical failure and the accused could not be held responsible for this. The court subsequently ordered that both the accused be released on a bail of Rs 25,000 each.

The public prosecutor and investigating officer then told the court that the accused were also charged under the POCSO Act and as further investigation was required, the accused should be remanded in police custody to prove they had tampered with CCTV footage. The court allowed the prosecution to challenge the bail order in the high court. Also, in the second offence, the police were allowed to re-arrest both the accused.