Aaditya Thackeray Raises Alarming Questions on Badlapur Assault

Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray criticizes the BJP-Mindhe regime for allegedly protecting perpetrators and mishandling the Badlapur sexual assault case. Thackeray raises questions about the school's trustees, local leaders, and the handling of protesters. Opposition leaders from MVA also condemn the government's approach.

Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday raised several pointed questions concerning the Badlapur sexual assault case. Speaking on micro-blogging platform X, Thackeray questioned the whereabouts of the trustees of the Badlapur school and why they were allegedly being shielded by the BJP-Mindhe regime.

Thackeray's post stated, "The real question is: 1) Where are the trustees of the Badlapur school? Why are they being protected by the BJP-Mindhe regime? 2) What about Mindhe's local associate, Waman Mhatre, who asked a journalist why she questioned the incident as if she had been raped. Why is he being protected? 3) Will the cases against the citizens who protested be withdrawn? They were merely protesting the police's refusal to file a complaint from the victim for a week. Who was the police station protecting? It is understood that the school trustees have affiliations with the BJP. Is it true? Will the regime respond?" he added.

On Monday, opposition coalition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) condemned the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government, criticizing the Mahayuti and terming the killing of the prime accused as a breakdown of law and order in the state. NCP MP Supriya Sule denounced the Mahayuti government's handling of the Badlapur case, calling it a shocking delay in filing the FIR and an inexcusable breakdown of law enforcement and the justice system.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also joined the criticism, describing the government's actions as "incompetence" and noting that the co-accused in the case remain at large. She suggested that the incident was manipulated by the state authorities. In response, the BJP accused the INDIA bloc of being anti-women and siding with alleged rapists.

BJP Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla commented on X, "Traitors and anti-national elements will naturally find it difficult to support the safety of our nation's law enforcement agencies. Congress has revealed its true colors--first by defending Pakistan's role in 26/11 and now by attacking the police. INDI alliance is a Balatkari and Atanki Bachao Jamaat."

(With inputs from agencies.)