BJP revokes decision to appoint co-accused in Badlapur sex abuse case as councillor after backlash

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday appointed a person accused in the Badlapur sexual abuse case as a co-opted councillor in the Kulgaon-Badlapur Municipal Council in Maharashtra’s Thane district, reported The Hindu.

As the decision triggered widespread criticism of the party, the order was revoked the same day, according to The New Indian Express.

A co-opted councillor is selected and appointed by an existing councilto fill a vacant seat, rather than being directly elected by the public.

Tushar Apte was the secretary of the educational institution where two four-year-old girls were sexually abused in 2024.

The girls were allegedly sexually assaulted by Akshay Shinde, a male attendant at their school, on August 12, 2024, with the complaint being filed four days later.

Shinde was arrested on August 17, 2024 and was killed on September 23, 2024, while being taken from Taloja Jail to the Thane Crime Branch, with police claiming he snatched a weapon and was shot in retaliatory fire

On January 20, 2025, a Thane magistrate told the Bombay High Court that five police officers were found responsible for Shinde’s custodial death.

Apte was charged in the case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act section 21(2) for allegedly failing to report the assault, PTI reported. He was arrested 44 days after the case and granted bail within 48 hours. The case against him is sub judice.

Council chairperson Ruchita Ghorpade said that Apte had been selected as one of five co-opted councillors. Of the five, two were nominated by the BJP, two by the Shiv Sena and one by the Nationalist Congress Party.

Defending the appointment earlier, BJP councillor Rajan Ghorpade said: “Though he was named as an accused, his guilt has not been proven.”

“Apte worked actively for the party and contributed to the party candidate’s victory, and therefore, he was given this responsibility,” Ghorpade added.

However, state Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule later said that Apte had submitted his resignation and that the party leadership would take action against those responsible for appointing him, The New Indian Express reported.