Badlapur Sexual Assault Accused Killed In 'Police Firing', Two Cops Injured; Oppn Slams Maharashtra Govt

The Badlapur sexual assault accused was being taken for an encounter when he was killed in an encounter. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis defended the police saying that they fired in self-defence.

Mumbai:Akshay Shinde, accused of sexually assaulting two nursery girls in a school at Badlapur in Maharashtra's Thane district, was killed in an 'encounter' while being taken from the Taloja jail to Badlapur on Monday.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said police fired in self-defence."The ex-wife of the main accused had filed a complaint of sexual assault. He was being taken for an investigation, at that time, he snatched the police's gun and fired at the police and also fired in the air. For their own defence, police fired at him. He was taken to a hospital where he died," Fadnavis told reporters here.

Police said that while Akshay was being taken to Badlapur from Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai, he snatched the gun from police personnel and fired at the cops. "For our self-defence, we shot at Akshay. He was rushed to a hospital but he died there. Two police personnel are injured," police added.

Shinde, an attendant at the school, allegedly sexually assaulted two girls inside the toilet. The parents lodged a complaint five days later after which, the accused was arrested on August 17.

The incident triggered a massive protest as locals blocked railway tracks at Badlapur station and ransacked the school building. They also pelted stones and vandalised vehicles following which, police had to resort to a mild lathi charge and fire tear gas. Over 30 people were arrested in this connection and a case was lodged against 2000 people. Amid the protest, internet services were also suspended in the area, which was wrapped under heavy security.

Notably, the Badlapur incident had surfaced at a time when protests were being launched in West Bengal over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule lashed out at the Maharashtra government after Akshay Shinde's death. In a post on X, Sule said, "The Mahayuti Government's approach to the Badlapur sexual assault case of two minor girls is shocking. Delay in the filing of the FIR first, and now the prime accused is killed in custody. This is an absolute breakdown of law enforcement and the justice system. This is inexcusable, it deprives the people of Maharashtra of justice."

Sule's father and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) supremo Sharad Pawar also hit out at the Home Ministry, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

In a post on X, Pawar, a former Union Minister, said, "The accused should have been hanged to death. However, the laxity shown by the Home Department in transferring the main accused in this incident is questionable. It seems that the government has become weak in threatening the law so that no one would even think of such a reprehensible act in the future. It is expected that the situation will emerge from the thorough investigation of this incident."

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Jitendra Awhad also trained his guns on the Maharashtra government saying the 'encounter' was an insult to the judiciary.

In a post on X, Awhad, a former Maharashtra minister stated, "Taking the accused to the door of the court and making him encounter is an insult to the judiciary. The judiciary plays the role of taking the detailed information of the entire incident to punish the criminals and justice to the victims accordingly."

"But on the contrary, this attempt to bring the UP-Bihar encounter culture to Maharashtra is very unfortunate and worrisome. The law is meant to punish criminals, but when the law is misused, many questions arise. Some say that Akshay tried to commit suicide, some say that the police had an encounter... If he tried to commit suicide, what were the police doing? Who ordered the encounter with the police? Where did the bullets hit? This case is suspicious and should be judicially investigated.

"But at the same time, importantly, it is very serious to play with people's sentiments by creating such violent and anti-judicial incidents when the elections are around the corner. What exactly is being hidden in this case, who is trying to save?" added Awhad.

Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Vijay Wadettiwar said the incident was shocking. "There should be a judicial probe into this incident," added Wadettiwar, a senior Congress leader.

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole wondered if this encounter was done to save trustees of the school who have not been arrested so far.

Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sushma Andhare equated the incident with the gunning down of four rape accused in Telangana in 2019. "There too the police claimed it was done in self-defence. However, due to the deaths, the truth never came out. The same will be the case with the Badlapur sexual assault. Was Akshay Shinde killed as he was hiding something more sinister? Why is the school management still on the run?" she asked.

How come Akshay Shinde managed to snatch a gun despite being handcuffed and how did he know to operate the firearm, Andhare further questioned.

The gunning down of Badlapur case accused Akshay Shinde on Monday was the "killing of justice", said Asim Sarode, the lawyer for the two minor girls he allegedly sexually assaulted.

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