Badlapur sexual assault case: Chairman, secretary of school move Bombay HC for pre-arrest bail

Mumbai: The chairman and secretary of a school in Badlapur, where a male attendant sexually assaulted two girls, have moved the Bombay High Court seeking pre-arrest bail.

A case has been registered against the duo under relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for not reporting the incident to the police immediately and for negligence.

They approached the high court after a special court denied them anticipatory bail.

Their pleas came up for hearing on Monday before a single bench of Justice R N Laddha, and the court posted the matter for October 1.

Two girls, aged four and five, were sexually assaulted inside the washroom of the school by a male attendant last month. The accused has been arrested.

The Badlapur police were initially probing the case, but the Maharashtra government set up a special investigation team (SIT) following a public outcry over serious lapses in the police investigation.

While the male attendant was arrested, the school's chairman and secretary have not been apprehended yet.

Last month, the high court took suo motu (on its own) cognisance of the case and is supervising the investigation.