Badlapur Sexual Assault: Thane Court Approves Request for Test Identification Parade

A Thane Court has granted the Special Investigating Team’s (SIT) request to conduct a test identification parade for the accused in the Badlapur minors’ sexual assault case. The identification parade will be held in the presence of the Executive Magistrate, where the victims will identify the accused.

The case involves the alleged sexual assault of two four-year-olds at their school in Badlapur, Maharashtra. After the identification process, the SIT will prepare a psychological profile of the accused to aid in further investigation.

On August 30, the SIT declared two trustees of the school as absconding. The crime branch and cyber police teams have been actively searching for the trustees after the SIT registered a case of negligence against them and summoned them to record their statements. According to police officials, the trustees are not cooperating with the investigation, and when a police team visited their homes, they were not found.

Previously, on August 27, the Bombay High Court emphasized the need to educate boys about gender equality from a young age to change societal mindsets. The court made these remarks during a hearing on the Badlapur sexual assault case, which it had taken suo motu cognizance of.

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan highlighted that male dominance and chauvinism persist in society and stressed the importance of teaching boys about appropriate behavior from an early age.

The Court also suggested forming a committee to study the issue and recommend rules and guidelines for schools to prevent such incidents.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on August 23 (Friday) registered an FIR against the school authorities for failing to comply with Section 19 of the POCSO Act, which mandates reporting any known instances of sexual assault against minors to the police. The investigation into the Badlapur incident is being led by the deputy director of the Mumbai region, with involvement from various departments.

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