Badlapur sexual abuse case co-accused appointed as councillor quits in 24 hours as BJP faces flak

Thane, Jan 10 (PTI) A co-accused in the Badlapur sexual abuse case has resigned within 24 hours of being appointed by BJP as a 'co-opted' councillor in Kulgaon-Badlapur Municipal Council in Thane district after the ruling party faced all-round flak.

Tushar Apte was the secretary of a school where two children were allegedly sexually assaulted by an attendant, who was later killed in a police "encounter".

Apte was named in a case registered against the school management under Section 21(2) of POCSO Act for allegedly failing to report the offence. He was arrested 44 days after the incident and granted bail within 48 hours.

Kulgaon-Badlapur Municipal Council chairperson Ruchita Ghorpade, earlier in the day, confirmed Apte's appointment. He was among the five selected as co-opted councillors, comprising two each from the BJP and Shiv Sena and one from Nationalist Congress Party.

Besides Apte, other nominated councillors include Shagof Gore (BJP), Prabhakar Patil (NCP), and Dilip Baikar and Hemant Chature (Shiv Sena).

Amid stringent criticism by Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut as well as MNS' Avinash Jadhav, Apte on Saturday evening said he had submitted his resignation to the Chief Executive Officer of the municipality.

"I have decided to resign voluntarily so that the educational organization I represent and BJP do not face any further trouble or disturbance," Apte told the media, adding he would issue a detailed statement soon.

Earlier, BJP councillor Rajan Ghorpade had defended Apte's inclusion claiming the latter is a social activist and office-bearer of a reputed educational institution.

"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 our candidate's victory, and therefore, he was given this responsibility," Ghorpade had said.

The Badlapur case made national headlines in 2024, becoming a major issue in the Assembly polls that year, especially since the area, in Thane district, is part of then chief minister Eknath Shinde's home turf.

Two girls were allegedly sexually abused by Akshay Shinde (24) on the premises of the school, triggering massive protests by parents and citizens.

He was arrested in August that year. On September 23, just a couple of months before the assembly polls, Akshay Shinde was killed in an alleged police shootout while being taken from Navi Mumbai’s Taloja prison for questioning.

The police claimed he snatched the gun of one of the cops in the van, opened fire, and was killed in retaliatory firing. The accused was being taken for questioning in connection with a case lodged against him by his wife.

In Maharashtra, co-opted councillors are those selected by elected members of a municipal body to fill a limited number of seats. They are nominated by parties based on their local expertise and contribution and often have restricted voting rights when compared to directly elected representatives. PTI COR NSK BNM