Maharashtra MVA Protest: Minors Had Ruptured Hymens, Says Report; Oppn Holds Demonstrations Across State

As Outlook India's live blog covered the MVA protests in Maharashtra against the sexual assault of two minor girls in a Badlapur school and the proceedings in the Kolkata doctor case, here are the top highlights from Saturday, August 24:

• Protests were staged by the opposition group Maha Vikas Agadhi (MVA) across Maharashtra against the sexual assault of two kindergarten girl students in Badlapur.

• A media report said that the two girls were sexually abused in a school in Badlapur, adding that their hymen had been ruptured.

• Congress leaders in Maharashtra, speaking over crimes against women, said that we want 'Surakshit behen' not 'ladli behen'.

• Meanwhile, in the Kolkata rape-murder case, polygraph test of the main accused Sanjay Roy, former RG Kar Medical College and Hospital principal Dr Sandip Ghosh and four other accused doctors was conducted by the CBI on Saturday.

• Protests continued to rage on across the nation, seeking justice in the rape and murder case of a postgraduate trainee doctor in the state-run medical facility in Kolkata.

• The Central Bureau of Investigation took over the probe into the financial irregularities in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital from the state-constituted SIT and lodged an FIR against the medical facility and former principal Dr Sandip Ghosh.

With this, the updates to this live blog have ended.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi will observe a 'Maharashtra Bandh' on Saturday to protest the alleged sexual abuse of two nursery girls in Badlapur.

The schools, colleges, hospitals and public transport will remain operational in Maharashtra amid the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA’s) call for statewide shutdown against Badlapur incident.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has said, "There is no political motive behind the bandh called by the MVA on August 24.”

The main accused in Kolkata rape and murder case Sanjay Roy has denied committing any crime and claimed he is being framed.

As per TOI report, Roy has said, “I have not committed any crime. I am being framed. Maybe the polygraph test will prove that."

Eighteen doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers from R G Kar Medical College in Kolkata, who were falsely accused on social media of being "missing" since August 9, the day the trainee doctor was found raped and murdered, were actually assisting both Kolkata Police and the CBI with the investigation, helping reconstruct the sequence of events, reports said.

Congress leader Ragini Nayak has slammed the Maharashtra government and the BJP for the sexual assault case in a Badlapur school and the rape-murder of a woman postgraduate trainee doctor in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Nayak attacked the Eknath Shinde government for the delay in filing an FIR in the Badlapur incident, adding that the probe moved ahead only after the people held street protests. She pointed out that the Bombay High Court too admonished the police for its inaction.

"Had the Maharashtra government been sensitive, it would not have tried to cover up the incident. It even painted the opposition's demand for a thorough probe as theatrics. The school in question has some BJP leaders on the board," Nayak alleged, as quoted by news agency PTI.

After Bombay High Court orestrained political parties or individuals from proceeding with a Maharashtra bandh on August 24 or any future date, forcing the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to withdraw its proposed state-wide shutdown to protest sexual assault on two minor girls in a school and push the government for swift action.

Reacting to the HC ruling, the MVA said it has called off the bandh, but it will go ahead with peaceful demonstrations across the state with black bands tied on the mouths of its leaders and workers.

Amid the protests and investigation over the Badlapur incident, the Thane Police have issued a stern warning against spreading hate speech and misinformation on social media, as per TOI report.

The police emphasised that such actions not only disrupt public order but also have severe consequences for the community at large.

This comes after false and misleading messages about the incident circulated widely on social media platforms, fuelling public unrest and anxiety.

Morning Walkers at Rabindra Sarobar in Kolkata hold protest march against the RG Kar Medical College & Hospital rape-murder case.

Bengali actress Payel Mukherjee was allegedly attacked by a bike-borne miscreant on Southern Avenue, Kolkata. The attackers smashed her car window, leaving the actress visibly shaken and in tears.

Payel took to social media to share her ordeal. In the video, she is seen wiping away tears while recounting the traumatic experience.

BJP leader Chitra Wagh has said the opposition was using the sexual assault on two schoolgirls in Badlapur in Thane to target the women-centric Ladki Bahin Yojana of the Maharashtra government

The Maha Vikas Aghadi had called a 'bandh' across the state on Saturday, though it was withdrawn by the opposition alliance after the Bombay High Court said such a shutdown would be unconstitutional and asked the state government to take preventive steps. "The protest is being used as a pretext to target the Ladki Bahin Yojana," said Wagh, who is president of the state BJP's Mahila Morcha, as quoted by news agency PTI.

"In the Badlapur case, police officers have been suspended and transferred, an SIT has been formed. The school's management has people from all parties but it is being portrayed as an institution with BJP links," she said.

The Calcutta High Court has decided not to impose a prohibition order on the planned march to Nabanna, where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s office is located. This decision follows the Supreme Court's directive supporting the right to peaceful protests by civil society.

On the incident of sexual assault on two children in Badlapur, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said, "Our government will demand capital punishment for the accused. Opposition parties politicised the incident. Just like we gave 'Ladki Bahin', we will give 'Surakshit Bahin'. They are trying to spread hatred by opposing the scheme. Those who made money during the Covid-19 pandemic now call themselves sensitive."

Police in Maharashtra’s Palghar district have arrested two persons for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl after taking her on an outing, an official said on Saturday.

An official from the Tulinj police station said that the complainant, a resident of Mumbai, often visited Nallasopara to meet a friend. During her visits, she got acquainted with one of the accused, identified as Sonu, who worked in a studio in the locality.

On Thursday, Sonu and his friend invited the teenager for an outing. They took the girl in an auto to an isolated place where both raped her, the official said citing the FIR. (PTI Inputs)

The two school girls, who were sexually abused in a school in Maharashtra's Badlapur, have a ruptured hymen, report said. Two four-year-old girls were sexually assaulted inside the washroom of a Maharashtra school this month.

According to the India Today report, the kindergarteners were abused repeatedly over 15 days.

Former principal of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital Medical College and Hospital, Dr Sandip Ghosh on Saturday arrived at CBI Special Crime Branch at CGO complex, Salt Lake in Kolkata.

The documents related to alleged financial irregularities at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital have been transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).This follows a court order, as former principal Sandip Ghosh appeared at the CBI Special Crime Branch office in Kolkata.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and party MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday staged a protest in Maharashtra's Mumbai against the Badlapur sexual assault case.

On sexual assault of 2 kindergarten girls at Badlapur,NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said the incident has hit Maharashtra’s image in the country:

Polygraph test on main accused Sanjay Roy and six others including ex-principal of RG Kar Medical College has started, officials said on Saturday.

On Badlapur incident, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said the Maharashtra government is standing with the culprits instead of taking action against them.

Workers of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) held a protest at Gandhi Chowk in Maharashtra’s Bhandara on Saturday.

West Bengal government has appealed to agitating junior doctors to return to work as their agitation over the RG Kar rape-murder entered the second week, saying patient care was getting hampered.

Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar claimed on Saturday that crimes against women and children in the state are rising and perpetrators have no fear of the law.

He alleged that those occupying the chairs of the chief minister and deputy CMs do not deserve the posts.

The Congress leader was speaking to reporters about the recent sexual crimes against women and children, including the Badlapur incident that has caused a massive outrage.

Wadettiwar claimed there is no “law and order in the state”. Such incidents have brought shame to Maharashtra, he said. PTI

City union of Ola and Uber cab drivers take out a vehicle march in Kolkata on Saturday from Rani Rashmoni Bhawan to Esplanade area.

West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari has alleged that Kolkata police are trying to distract the protesters who are likely to participate in the August 27 protest called by BJP.

“Mamata Police is unleashing sinister ‘toolkit’ to deviate protestors from Marching towards Nabanna, seeking justice for the RG Kar PGT Lady Doctor !!!” he said on micro-blogging site X.

The police's special investigation team (SIT) which is investigating Badlapur sexual assault case has reportedly recorded statements from 17 people in the case so far.

Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad on Saturday during a protest against the Badlapur sexual assault case in Maharashtra's Mumbai said, "We will take to the streets and fight for the respect of our sisters and the safety of our daughters... We don't need 'Ladli Bhen'; we need 'Surakshit Bhen'."

On Shiv Sena (UBT) staging a protest over the Badlapur incident, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anand Dubey on Saturday said, "Today on August 24, we were protesting against the atrocities on women in Maharashtra by keeping Mumbai and Maharashtra closed for the day. But if the Supreme Court has ordered that we cannot keep the city closed then we agreed to it...The law and order of the government should be efficient but this Mahayuti government has failed..."

A team of Cyber Crime Police on Saturday arrived at CBI office in Kolkata to handover CCTV footage of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday alleged that the Maharashtra government used its “favourite petitioner” to approach the court to stop the bandh called by the Maha Vikas Aghadi against the Badlapur sexual assault.

Raut said the bandh called by MVA partners was going to be 100 per cent successful and it would not have portended positively for the BJP-led Mahayuti government.

The Bombay High Court on Friday restrained political parties or individuals from proceeding with a Maharashtra bandh on August 24 or any future date over the Badlapur school sexual assault incident.

“The government made its favourite petitioner file a petition in the court against the bandh,” Raut said.

He was referring to activist and lawyer Gunaratna Sadavarte, who approached the court against the bandh.

“Where is democracy in the country if our voices are going to be suppressed? The bandh was a manifestation of the anger in the minds of people,” he said. It will be the responsibility of the court and the petitioner if there are any such cases in the future, he said. PTI

Students Federation of India (SFI) workers are holding a protest march, demanding justice in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-murder case in Kolkata. The protests are being held amid heavy rains in the state.

The CBI Anti Corruption Branch lodged an FIR against RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and former principal Sandip Ghosh in connection with the financial irregularities at the medical facility.

The CBI took the action after the Calcutta High Court transferred the probe from a state-constituted SIT to the CBI.

The SIT went to the CBI office in Nizam Palace this morning and handed over all the documents in the case. The FIR was filed by the CBI after receiving all the documents.

Shiv Sena (UBT) workers staged a protest in Thane against the Badlapur incident, where a minor girl was allegedly sexually assaulted at a local school.

Independent MP Pappu Yadav said, "Both doctor mafia and drugs mafia are involved in this... That girl was killed by doctors only, and rapes are also being reported in Uttarakhand and Bihar. No speedy trails are being conducted in such cases, while such criminals are being given tickets (to contest polls)."

The Kolkata Police seized the bike of Sanjay Roy, the main accused in the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and took it to the CBI office.

A section of drivers of app-based cab services in Kolkata on Saturday took out a rally in protest against the alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor at a state-run hospital in the city.

Around 300 drivers participated in the rally from Rashbehari Crossing to Esplanade with some walking the stretch and some following with cars in the protest rally organised by Leftist trade union CITU.

The drivers put up boards with messages displayed on the dashboard of the vehicles while some put up red flags on the cars.

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi held a protest in Latur on Saturday as part of its statewide stir against the sexual assault on two girls in a school in Badlapur in Thane district and the Maharashtra government's alleged mishandling of the case.

Workers of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) wore black arm bands and masks to cover their mouths as part of the protest, which was held at Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Chowk in the morning.

They shouted slogans against the state and Union governments and said concrete steps must be taken to tackle crimes against women.