Badlapur sexual assault: Mob assaults accused’s family, forces them to flee

Thane: While thousands of people were protesting at Badlapur railway station on Tuesday against the alleged sexual assault on two four-year-old girls at a school, some residents of the city’s Kharavai area barged into the home of the accused, Akshay Shinde, vandalised it, and assaulted his family members.
Although the police were quickly deployed, local residents did not allow Shinde’s family—his parents and elder brother—to stay in the house and forced them to flee. Shinde’s wife and one-and-a-half-year-old son were not at home when the assault took place.
The Kharavai area of Badlapur, where Shinde lived, consists of small sheds. Most residents work as daily-wage labourers. According to neighbours, Shinde’s family was relatively better off. “The family, including the accused’s mother, worked various jobs such as security guard and cleaner, while his brother was an office attendant,” said Jyoti, one of Shinde’s neighbours.
Another neighbour, Rekha Gupta, said Shinde worked as a cleaner in different apartments and sometimes as a security guard. Others said the family earned between ₹5,000 and ₹6,000 a month and owned a house in a chawl.
One of the neighbours said that on Tuesday afternoon, once it was revealed that Shinde was the accused, residents of the area gathered at his house and began attacking his brother, mother, and father. The family had to flee the area, while their relatives locked the home and escaped as well.
“This is the first time in the last five years that we have lived here that something like this has happened,” said Nilam Mestry, another neighbour. “The mob was so furious they didn’t stop for a moment. Everyone, including our chawl members, attacked the family. They were crying out and pleading for help, but no one listened. The family fled the area around 3 pm, clutching just one bag. Their relatives who live here also escaped.”
Soniya, another neighbour, said she frequently spoke with Shinde’s mother, who often expressed concern about the accused’s future but did not provide specific details. She added that Shinde recently secured a job with the help of a previous employer who holds a position on the school’s management committee.