The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has appointed Tushar Apte, the former secretary of a school and a co-accused in the Badlapur sexual abuse case, as a ‘co-opted’ councillor in the Kulgaon-Badlapur Municipal Council in Thane district.
Council chairperson Ruchita Ghorpade confirmed Apte's appointment. He was welcomed after the process of selecting five co-opted councillors of the municipal council was completed on Friday.
Two of the five were nominated by the BJP, two by the Shiv Sena, and one by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Alongside Apte, the other nominated councillors include Shagof Gore (BJP), Prabhakar Patil (NCP), and Dilip Baikar and Hemant Chature (Shiv Sena).
Apte, who was secretary of the educational institution where the alleged sexual abuse took place, was booked for failing to report the offence.
A case was registered against the school management under Section 21(2) of the POCSO Act for not filing a complaint in a case of sexual abuse of children. Apte was arrested 44 days after the incident and granted bail within 48 hours.
The case is currently sub judice.
Defending the appointment, BJP councillor Rajan Ghorpade said, "Though he was named as an accused, his guilt has not been proven. The main accused has already been punished. Apte worked actively for the party and contributed to the party candidate's victory, and therefore, he was given this responsibility."
He also called Apte "a social activist and office-bearer of a reputed educational institution." The girls were allegedly sexually abused by Akshay Shinde on the premises of the school, which sparked protests from parents and citizens.
Shinde, 24, was arrested in August 2024 for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls inside a school toilet in Badlapur.
On September 23, Shinde was killed in an alleged police shootout while being taken from Navi Mumbai’s Taloja prison for questioning. Police claimed he snatched a gun from one of the officers in the van, opened fire, and was killed in retaliatory firing.
The questioning was related to a case lodged against him by his wife.