Badlapur: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tushar Apte resigned from his post in the Kulgaon-Badlapur Municipal Council of Maharashtra’s Thane district within hours of his appointment as the 'co-opted’ councillor.

His resignation comes after the saffron party faced sharp criticism for the appointment of Tushar Apte, who is among the accused booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for allegedly failing to report the sexual abuse of two minor girls inside a Badlapur school in August 2024.

Hence, his nomination triggered outrage from opposition parties. The Maharashtra wing of Congress called the BJP's decision a "mockery of victims". In a post on X, Maharashtra Congress said, "If you look at the incidents from the past few years, you'll realize that the BJP is in the business of honoring those accused in rape cases, giving them election tickets and even campaigning for them."

Amidst growing criticism, Apte resigned from his post. He later stated that he resigned since he did not want to tarnish the image of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

A sanitation worker named Akshay Shinde was the main accused in the Badlapur case. Shinde, who was employed at the school on a contractual basis, allegedly sexually assaulted two minor girls in the school's washroom. Apte, who earlier served as the school’s secretary, was also arrested in the case. However, he was later granted bail. Meanwhile, Shinde was killed in an alleged encounter with police while being taken from a Navi Mumbai jail for questioning.
Police claimed that Shinde had seized the gun of a police officer and was killed in retaliatory firing.

After the BJP appointed Apte to the council, the Maharashtra Congress questioned whether Shinde was killed to "save" Apte.

NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule had also condemned the BJP's decision, claiming, "BJP has reached the peak of insensitivity." In a post on X, she said, “BJP made clear what its priorities are. The safety of children and women should be the priority of any government.”