Around 500 booked, 72 arrested for Badlapur protests, rail blockade

Badlapur: The Thane police and the Government Railway Police have registered four FIRs against around 500 protesters who blocked the Badlapur railway station on Tuesday for over eight hours, protesting against the sexual assault on two four-year-old girls at a city school earlier this month.
At least 72 people have been arrested so far, including women, in connection with Tuesday’s protests, in which at least 25 police personnel were injured in incidents of stone-pelting at the Badlapur railway station and other parts of the city, according to the authorities. While the women were allowed to go home after notices were issued to them, the men were produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody. They were then shifted to Adharwadi Jail in Kalyan.
The Thane police registered three FIRs on charges including the violation of prohibitory orders, armed unlawful assembly, assault, and damage to public property. The city police arrested 40 people, while attempts to identify other offenders by examining CCTV and news channel footage are on. The GRP has registered one FIR in connection with the violence at Badlapur station and arrested 32 people.
The police said they could have dispersed the crowd at Badlapur station on Tuesday earlier, but were not able to do so because of visits of politicians. The crowd started gathering at the railway station around 10.10 am and was cleared only by 6.15 pm.
“By 5 pm, we could have dispersed the crowd, but then ministers began sending messages of their arrival and, therefore, we had to wait until the protesters could get a chance to have a dialogue with the people’s representatives and ministers,” said a GRP officer who was at the site.
After a tumultuous Tuesday, Badlapur experienced a significant drop in activity on Wednesday amid heavy police presence at key locations. Most residents stayed indoors, shops remained shut for several hours, internet services were suspended till the evening, and electricity was disrupted in many areas of the city.
Under heavy police security, the accused, Akshay Shinde, was produced before a special POCSO court in Kalyan, where his police custody was extended till August 26. The Kalyan Bar Association appealed to all its members not to defend the accused, even as lawyers from Ulhasnagar, Badlapur, and Kalyan pledged to represent the protesters for free.