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Lawyer Ujjwal Nikam has been appointed as the special prosecutor in the Badlapur sexual assault case. (Image source: X)
Ujjwal Nikam has handled several high-profile cases, including the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that led to the conviction of Ajmal Kasab, the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts and the 1997 murder of Bollywood producer Gulshan Kumar case
Lawyer Ujjwal Nikam has been appointed as the special public prosecutor in the Bhadrapur case involving the sexual assault of two young girls in a school in Maharashtra's Thane district.
The development comes after widespread outrage over the case on Tuesday. The four-year-old kindergarten student was allegedly attacked by 23-year-old cleaner Akshay Shinde in the school toilet on August 12 and 13 when no female staff members were present at the school.
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On Tuesday morning (August 20), angry parents of schoolchildren and local residents, including several women, gathered outside the school and staged a “rail roko” protest at the train station. Thousands of people blocked tracks, causing widespread disruption to local train services and the diversion of some long-distance trains. Police had to resort to stringing charges and detaining protesters to clear the tracks.
The appointment of 71-year-old Nikam is seen as an important step in the recent controversy over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata.
Nikam has handled a number of high-profile cases, including the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, which resulted in the conviction of the sole surviving terrorist, Ajmal Kasab. His efforts helped secure Kasab's death sentence, which was carried out in Pune's Yewada jail in November 2012.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the Bhadrapur incident will be investigated expeditiously and the case heard in a fast-track court and decided to appoint senior lawyer Ujwal Nikam Nikam as special prosecutor. @Dev_Fadnavis— @OfficeOfDevendra (@Devendra_Office) August 20, 2024
Other cases he handled include the 1993 Mumbai serial bombings and the 1997 murder of Bollywood producer Gulshan Kumar. He also played a key role in the conviction of Ravinder Singh in the 1991 Kalyan bomb blast case and the 2006 murder case of BJP leader Pramod Mahajan.
Nikam, who was awarded the Padma Shri in 2016 for his services in the legal field, recently contested the North Central Lok Sabha elections in Mumbai on the ticket of the Bharatiya Janata Party, but was defeated by Congress candidate Varsha Gaikwa Defeated by Varsha Gaikwad.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced Nikam's appointment, underscoring the commitment to justice for survivors.
