More disturbing revelations have unfolded after an inquiry into the Badlapur sexual assault case relating to two four-year-old girls at a local school uncovered a glaring oversight. The inquiry revealed that CCTV footage from the past 15 days was mysteriously missing from the recordings. On Monday, Minister of Education Deepak Kesarkar expressed grave concern over the school authorities’ lack of action despite being aware of the missing footage. The state School Education Department, which conducted the probe, also discovered that CCTVs near the washrooms—where the incidents presumably took place—were absent. The minister emphasised the necessity of CCTV surveillance and panic buttons in schools while lamenting that the lost recordings could have served as crucial evidence.

Further investigations revealed troubling details about the day of the incident, as the minister also named the two school maids/helpers mentioned in the education department report who were assigned to escort the girls to the washroom but were conspicuously absent. Their negligence prompted the education department to recommend their prosecution as co-accused in the case.