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Two nursery students, both aged four, were sexually assaulted by a cleaning staff at a reputed school in Thane district triggering a massive protest on Tuesday.
Hundreds of angry protestors, many of them parents, stormed the school building and demanded harsh punishment for the accused.
Protesters also brought local train services to a halt for several hours at Badlapur railway station. The police lathi-charged the protesters to clear them off the railway tracks. The protesters also blocked major roads and highways and pelted stones at the police.
The incident, according to reports, occurred last week. The parents came to know about the abuse on August 18 following which they lodged a police complaint.
The 24-year-old accused was arrested on Saturday.
The school administration on Monday suspended the principal, class teacher and female attendant, holding them responsible for the incident.
Reportedly, it was only after the District Women and Child Welfare Department intervened, that police registered a case under the POCSO Act.
A call for Badlapur bandh has been given by several organisations to protest against the incident.
Amid massive protests, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday ordered the suspension of three police officials, including a senior police inspector, for alleged dereliction of duty in probing the case.
"The orders of immediate suspension of the senior police inspector, assistant sub-inspector and head constable attached to Badlapur police station for the dereliction of duty have been issued," Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis posted on X.
The state government has already ordered the setting up of a Special Investigation Team (SIT). Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the case will be fast-tracked, and a special public prosecutor will be appointed.
"I have spoken to the Thane Commissioner of Police. The accused has been arrested. I have asked the case to be fast-tracked and book the accused under the charges of attempt to rape and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act," he said.
Maharashtra School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar said that action will be taken against schools if CCTV cameras installed on their premises are found to be non-functional.
Meanwhile, the opposition parties alleged that the parents of the victim girls were made to wait for 11 hours at Badlapur police station before the officials took note of their complaints.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief and former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray alleged that school management has links to BJP leaders.
He demanded a fast-track trial and speedy justice in the case.
"The case should be fast-tracked, and the victims should be ensured speedy justice," he told reporters.
Taking a jibe at BJP's response to the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata, he said that politics was being done over crime against women by targeting certain states.
Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra assembly Vijay Wadettiwar said the incident in Badlapur is "bigger" than the rape murder of Kolkata since the girls are just four years old.
"Atrocities are committed on a three-and-half years old girl, a four-year-old girl, and at the police station, they (parents) are made to wait for 11 hours when they seek to file a complaint... Is there any sensitivity left? I spoke to the police commissioner and told him that the woman police officer responsible for this delay must be suspended immediately," Mr Wadettiwar said.
Local train services resume after 10 hours
Local train services on the Ambernath-Karjat section affected by protests at Badlapur railway station in Thane district resumed on Tuesday night after remaining suspended for 10 hours, a Central Railway official said.
The first suburban train reached Badlapur station at 8:05 PM, almost 10 hours after the services were suspended, said Swapnil Nila, chief public relations officer of Central Railway.
"First Up local (Khopoli-CSMT) and Down local (CSMT-Karjat) both passed Badlapur at 8.05 pm," Nila said, adding that services were allowed after Railways operated a light engine on both tracks as per the safety protocol.
After a gap of several hours, the first local train for Badlapur from CSMT in south Mumbai departed at around 7 pm.
(With inputs from PTI)