Maharashtra Bandh Called by MVA Over Badlapur Incident Involving School Attendant
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has announced a Maharashtra Bandh on August 24 in response to the alleged sexual assault of two fourth-grade girls by a school attendant in Badlapur.
Leaders Speak Out
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut stated, “We had come here to discuss seat sharing but then we thought that we would not discuss seat sharing and instead discuss the law and order in the state after the Badlapur incident. 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.”
NCP-SCP leader Jitendra Awhad added, “Yesterday, FIRs have been filed against 300 people protesting against the Badlapur incident… This is an unconstitutional government… The culprits are increasing and against this Maharashtra Bandh is important.”
Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat also commented, “We had a meeting today and on August 24 in which we called for Bandh. The Badlapur incident is serious.”
Protests and Arrests
The incident has caused massive outrage in Badlapur. On August 17, police arrested an attendant for allegedly abusing the girls. A large protest was held at Badlapur Railway Station, where protesters pelted stones at police. Heavy security has been deployed to control the crowd. Maharashtra Police has arrested more than 40 people and registered an FIR against 300 people following the protest.
Government Response
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has ordered a high-level probe into the incident and announced the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case.
Doubts Revealed
Maharashtra Bandh -: A ‘bandh’ is a protest where people stop working and businesses close to show they are upset about something. ‘Maharashtra’ is a state in India.
MVA -: MVA stands for Maha Vikas Aghadi, which is a group of political parties in Maharashtra. They work together to run the state government.
Badlapur -: Badlapur is a town in Maharashtra, India. It is where the incident involving the school attendant happened.
School Attendant -: A school attendant is someone who helps with various tasks at a school, like cleaning or assisting teachers.
Shiv Sena (UBT) -: Shiv Sena (UBT) is a political party in Maharashtra. ‘UBT’ stands for Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, who is a leader of the party.
NCP-SCP -: NCP-SCP stands for Nationalist Congress Party and Sharad Pawar’s Congress Party. These are political parties in Maharashtra.
Congress -: Congress is a major political party in India. It is one of the oldest parties in the country.
FIR -: FIR stands for First Information Report. It is a document that the police create when someone reports a crime.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde -: Eknath Shinde is the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. The Chief Minister is like the head of the state government.
High-level probe -: A high-level probe is a detailed investigation done by important officials to find out what happened in a serious case.
Special Investigation Team (SIT) -: A Special Investigation Team (SIT) is a group of police officers who are chosen to investigate very important or complicated cases.