Mumbai, Jan 24 (IANS) Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led MahaYuti government over the alleged sexual abuse of a four-year-old girl by a school bus driver in Badlapur, near Mumbai, calling it a grave failure of both the school administration and the state machinery to protect children.

In an editorial published in the party mouthpiece Saamana, the Thackeray camp criticised the state leadership, remarking that while senior officials, including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, are in Switzerland seeking foreign investment, criminals appear emboldened and law and order have deteriorated in Maharashtra.

The editorial alleged that the incident took place at a private school in Badlapur and that when the traumatised parents informed the school principal, the management attempted to suppress the matter instead of taking immediate action. It was only after the parents approached the police that an FIR was registered and the accused driver arrested.

Further investigations revealed that the school bus did not have a valid permit and was operating without a female attendant, in violation of government norms. The Regional Transport Office (RTO) has since cancelled the vehicle’s licence and imposed a fine of Rs 24,000, the editorial said.

Calling the incident a “grim repetition of history” for Badlapur, Saamana recalled that two years ago, two schoolgirls were sexually assaulted by a cleaning staff member at another local school. In that case, too, the school management had allegedly tried to cover up the incident, leading to widespread public outrage and a controversial police encounter of the accused.

The editorial further alleged that if the ruling BJP projects individuals linked to such cases as “co-opted corporators,” it sends a message that sexual offenders need not fear the law. It also cited recent criticism by the Bombay High Court of the state government in the Gogawale case, terming it indicative of a breakdown in the rule of law.

Despite repeated assurances by the RTO, transport police and the government to tighten regulations governing school transport, the latest incident shows that those promises were “hollow,” the editorial said.

Targeting the government’s “Laadki Bahin” and “Laadki Lek” welfare schemes, Saamana accused the state of seeking women’s votes while failing to ensure their safety. The editorial described the authorities’ response as “locking the stable after the horse has bolted,” arguing that official action only follows after tragedies occur.

–IANS

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