Overview
- The Kulgaon‑Badlapur Municipal Council confirmed Apte’s selection as a co‑opted councillor on Friday, and he stepped down within hours after intervention by BJP state leadership.
- Apte is booked under Section 21(2) of the POCSO Act for allegedly failing to report the 2024 school assaults, and the case remains pending before the Kalyan district and sessions court.
- He and school chairman Uday Kotwal were arrested more than 40 days after the FIR from a farmhouse in Karjat, and Apte was granted bail within 48 hours.
- Opposition parties, child‑rights groups and local organisations condemned the appointment, protests were threatened, and BJP leaders signalled action against those responsible for the nomination.
- Police say prime accused Akshay Shinde, a school janitor, was killed in a 2024 encounter during transport from Taloja jail, intensifying scrutiny of the broader case.