Badlapur sexual assault case: MVA calls for Maharashtra bandh on August 24

Amid growing anger over the Badlapur sexual assault case, in which two kindergarten girl students were sexually abused at school, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Wednesday called for a ‘Maharashtra bandh’ on August 24.
The decision was made during the MVA allies meeting in Mumbai, which was attended by leaders from Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SP) headed by Sharad Pawar.
Stating that they had come to discuss seat sharing but then thought that they would not discuss seat sharing and instead discuss the law-and-order in the state, Sena UBT leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said, “The people of Maharashtra are agitated, and FIRs have been registered against those who protested. We have decided that on August 24, MVA will call for Maharashtra Bandh over the Badlapur incident.”
Meanwhile, Congress workers protested against the state government in Badlapur, and they were detained. Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad also led a protest outside Mantralaya, the state secretariat.
 
Holding placards outside the gates of Mantralaya, Congress leaders and workers shouted slogans against the government for the “delay in the registration of the FIR”. The police stopped the protesters from entering the premises.
Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole accused the government of doing politics over the incident. “The biggest state where crime against children takes place is Maharashtra. 21,000 such incidents have happened in the state, and the government is hiding them,” said Patole.
Congress leader Aslam Shaikh slammed the Shinde-Fadnavis government, saying that, on the one hand, you are providing money under the Ladki Bahin Yojana, and on the other hand, crime in Thane has increased by 57 per cent.
“CM himself is from there. There is no security and crimes against women have increased. The entire Maharashtra is on fire today. We want the Government to provide security to women…How will Maharashtra trust Ujjwal Nikam? The institution (where the alleged crime occurred) has a BJP connection and Ujjwal Nikam contested elections against Congress recently. So, how will people trust him?…If crime rate is increasing in CM’s Thane, then Deputy CMs are unsuccessful and CM is a complete failure…Ground reality is that girl children are being raped, there is atrocity on women…He should take accountability and resign.”
On August 17, police arrested an attendant at the school. As per the complaint, he abused the girls in the toilet of the school.