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Angry parents of students and local people blocked the railway tracks at Badlapur station for 10 hours and ransacked a local school building to protest the incident and demand severe punishment for the accused. (PTI file photo)
Last month, Somotu admitted (on his own) to the sexual assault of two girls aged around four by a male attendant in a school toilet. The defendant has been arrested
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday told the police team probing the sexual assault of two girls at a school in Maharashtra's Bhadrapur to build a “watertight” case and not rush to file a chargesheet under public pressure.
A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan also said the boy should be sensitive. “Boys' education is important. 'Bete ko padhao beti ko bachao' (Educate boys, save girls),” Justice Del tweaked the government's slogan.
Last month, Somotu admitted (on his own) to the sexual assault of two girls aged around four by a male attendant in a school toilet. The accused has been arrested.
Advocate General Birendra Saraf, appearing for the government, told the court during Tuesday's hearing that the chargesheet would be filed soon.
The judge pointed out that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) was set up because the local police did not properly investigate the case and because “the emotions of ordinary people are very strong”. “This is a much larger issue. This case will set a precedent for all such cases in the future. The public is watching and the message we are sending is important,” the court added.
“Therefore, there is no rush to file the chargesheet. There is still time. Do not give in to the pressure of public opinion. Proper investigation must be done before filing the chargesheet,” the judges said.
“Before filing the charge sheet, make sure everything is in order. Make a waterproof case,” the HC added.
The court also came down heavily on the “rigid” manner in which the SIT kept the case diary.
“Is this the way case diaries are kept? Is it the modus operandi of investigators to write case diaries in a stereotypical way?” HC asked.
The judge said every step of the investigation must be mentioned in the case diary, but no details were mentioned in the diary.
“Efforts were not shown…stereotypical words were used in the case diary. We are not satisfied with the way the details were investigated. We did not see any concrete steps,” the bench said.
Writing this way defeats the original purpose of keeping a case diary and actually reflects the shoddy nature of the investigation of this case.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Saraf told the Supreme Council that the government has formed a committee to look into the safety and security of girls in schools.
The court said the boy's safety should also be checked.
“The committee will look into the safety and security of children in schools. We will be gender neutral. Not just girls, boys too. Just because it's a boy, it doesn't mean nothing untoward won't happen,” the court said.
The high court, before adjourning the hearing to October 1, recommended that retired IPS officer Meeran Borwankar and retired high court judges — either Sadhana Jadhav or Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi — should be included in the committee.
(This report has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from associated news agency – PTI)
