Schools, internet shut near Mumbai as protests grow over alleged sexual abuse of 4-year-old girls

MUMBAI — Internet services were cut off and schools were closed for a second straight day in a town near India's financial capital Mumbai on Aug 21, as protests over the alleged sexual abuse of two four-year-old girls intensified, media said.

The protests in Badlapur, about 50km from Mumbai, come amid nationwide demonstrations over the rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor in the eastern city of Kolkata.

A janitor was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing the students in a school in Badlapur on the weekend, media reported.

Calls and messages to police officials in Badlapur from Reuters were not answered on Aug 20.

Angry protesters blocked railway tracks for hours on Aug 20, demanding justice for the children, echoing similar protests across the country by doctors and women's groups.

The authorities ordered schools to remain shut, and internet services were suspended for a second day to quell any gatherings or protests, news channel ABP reported.

State Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the case would be tried in a fast-track court. Shinde said on Aug 21 that the protests were politically motivated.

Maharashtra, India's richest state, has state elections scheduled later in 2024, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party faces a tough fight from a joint opposition coalition.

Opposition parties in the state have called for a state-wide strike on Aug 24, Congress lawmaker Varsha Gaikwad said during a protest in Mumbai on Aug 21.

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