The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has appointed Tushar Apte, a co-accused in the Badlapur sexual abuse case involving two schoolgirls, as a co-opted councillor in the Kulgaon-Badlapur Municipal Council in Maharashtra’s Thane district.
Council chairperson Ruchita Ghorpade confirmed that Tushar Apte has officially been appointed. His selection was announced after the municipal council completed the process of choosing five co-opted councillors on Friday.
Of these, two were nominated by the BJP, two by the Shiv Sena, and one by the NCP.
Alongside Apte, the newly appointed councillors are Shagof Gore from the BJP, Prabhakar Patil from the NCP, and Dilip Baikar and Hemant Chature from the Shiv Sena.
Apte, serving as the secretary of the educational institution at the time of the alleged child sexual abuse, was charged for not reporting the offence.
The school management faced proceedings under Section 21(2) of the POCSO Act for failing to lodge a complaint regarding the abuse.
Apte’s arrest came 44 days after the incident, and he was released on bail within two days. The matter remains under judicial consideration.
In support of the decision, Rajan Ghorpade, a BJP councillor, highlighted Apte’s role as a social worker and his position within a well-known educational institution.
Ghorpade stated that, “Though he was named as an accused, his guilt has not been proven. The main accused has already been punished. Apte worked actively for the party and contributed to the party candidate’s victory, and therefore, he was given this responsibility”.
The Maharashtra Congress launched a scathing attack on the BJP over the appointment, asking, “Does the ‘B’ in BJP stand for rapist?”
The party alleged that the BJP has a record of “honouring those accused in rape cases” by giving them election tickets and even campaigning for them, and said naming Tushar Apte, an accused in the Badlapur sexual assault case, as a corporator amounted to “mocking the victim girls.”
The Congress also raised questions about the police encounter in the case, asking whether it was carried out to protect Apte.
National Spokesperson of the Indian National Congress, Dr. Shama Mohamed, slammed the BJP after the appointment, calling it “the reality behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s slogan ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’.”
” Accusing the BJP of shielding the accused, Mohamed said the party “repeatedly protects rapists and promotes those accused of sexual crimes,” calling the move “shameful.”
Two minor girls were allegedly abused by Akshay Shinde at a Badlapur school, sparking public outrage.
Shinde, 24, was arrested in August 2024 for the assault and later killed in a police shootout on September 23 while being taken from Taloja prison for questioning.
Police said he grabbed a cop’s gun, fired, and was shot dead in retaliation; he was being questioned in a separate case filed by his wife.
According to The Times of India, Badlapur school officials accused of not reporting child abuse were granted bail.
The Bombay High Court had earlier ordered a Special Investigation Team to probe the police encounter death of Akshay Shinde.
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