A video of an angry mob thrashing an elderly man at a school in Badlapur, Thane, where a cleaning staff member of the school was accused of sexually assaulting two four-year-old girls, is being shared with a false and communal claim that the accused is a Muslim man.
BOOM reached out to Thane Police Commissioner Ashutosh Dumbre, who confirmed that the claim is false and that the accused arrested is a 24 year old man named Akshay Shinde.
On August 20, 2024, hundreds of people protested against the sexual assault of two nursery-aged girls at a private school in Badlapur, with the protests turning violent. The agitations took place at the Badlapur railway station and outside the school where the accused, cleaning staff member Akshay Shinde, worked. Arrested individuals face charges of rioting, vandalism, and assaulting public officials, according to reports. The victims' family members have alleged that the school and police refused to take their complaint seriously and file an FIR. The accused, Shinde, was arrested on August 16, 2024. Three police officers and a senior police inspector were reported to be suspended by the state government after the protests.
The viral video in which a group of men can be seen barging inside the school and also beating a bearded man is being shared with the caption, "Two 4-year-old girls were sexu@lly abused in a school bathroom in Badlapur, Maharashtra. School sweeper Ashraf Hussain has been arrested in this case. The mob beat up the accused"
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the man being beaten up in the viral video is not the accused in the Badlapur school sexual assault case as being claimed in social media posts. Additionally, we also found that the accused arrested in the case is Akshay Shinde, and not a Muslim man named Ashraf Hussain as is being falsely claimed.
On checking replies to viral posts, we checked for news reports on the incident which stated that the accused Akshay Shinde (24) was arrested back on August 16, while the man in the viral video is older to the arrested accused.
We can see photos of the accused Shinde in the below TV9 Marathi news report.
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The Indian Express reported that the accused was arrested on August 16, and was first produced in the court on August 17 and remanded in police custody till August 21. When Shinde was produced in the court again, investigators sought extension of his custody and his remand was extended till August 26.
The report stated that as per the FIR, registered by the Badlapur East Police station based on the statement of the mother of one of the kindergarten girls, the alleged sexual assault happened on August 12 and 13 in the washroom of the school.
"The communal claim is false and that the accused arrested is Akshay Shinde:" Thane Police
BOOM then reached out to Thane Police Commissioner Ashutosh Dumbre, who stated that the communal claim is false and that the accused arrested is Akshay Shinde.
"The communal claim is fake, the arrested accused is Akshay Shinde, we haven't arrested anyone else," Dumbre told BOOM.
BOOM also reached out to several local reporters in Badlapur who also confirmed that the man in the viral video is not the accused in the case. A local reporter told BOOM that the man in the viral video was a labourer at the school who got caught up when the mob vandalised the school after the incident came to light.
We also found several reports on the Badlapur school being vandalised on August 20, 2024, this was three days after the accused had been arrested.
The accused Shinde's house was vandalised on August 21, 2024, according to The Indian Express.