The death of the Badlapur sex assault accused in police custody, has snowballed into a major political controversy in Maharashtra. Akshay Shinde’s family called the incident an “encounter” and sought justice while the Maharashtra government said cops acted in “self-defence” even as the opposition demanded a judicial probe and questioned the chain of events.
Thane police commissioner Ashutosh Dumbre has formed an eight-member inquiry committee to investigate the incident, which took place near Mumbra Bypass when the accused was being taken to Badlapur from Taloja jail for an investigation on Monday (September 23).
The panel will be headed by additional police commissioner Punjabrao Ugle and comprises two deputy commissioners of police, two assistant commissioners of police and two police inspectors.
After the inquest proceedings, Akshay Shinde’s body was brought to JJ Hospital for a post-mortem. His mother and uncle alleged it was a conspiracy by the police and management of the Badlapur school, where the accused worked as a sweeper and had allegedly sexually assaulted two students. His father, Anna Shinde, said an inquiry should be conducted into his son’s killing.
Speaking to reporters outside the hospital, Akshay’s mother and uncle questioned the police version and asserted he could not have snatched the weapon of a policeman. They claimed that the accused had told them he was being beaten up in custody and had also sent a chit seeking money.
“The police have killed our child. The school management must also be probed. The police got him to write something but we don’t know what it is,” his mother said. “My son was afraid of bursting crackers and crossing the road. How can he shoot at policemen?”
Akshay allegedly snatched the gun of a policeman while he was being ferried in a police vehicle as part of a probe into a case registered on the complaint of his former wife. After he shot and injured an assistant police inspector, another personnel from the escort team fired at him, and he was declared dead by doctors at Kalwa civil hospital.
“I met him yesterday. He was fine at that time. He asked me when he will be released, and I said in a month. He told me to send money for food and gave me a number to send it to. He had a piece of paper in his hand and told me to look at what was written on it. An hour later, they carried out an encounter on him,” the mother alleged.
“He had gone to work at the school; I don’t know what happened there. He didn’t even know how to drive a car, how could he fire such a big gun? Those who killed my child should be punished too. We want justice,” she added.
What is the Maharashtra government saying?
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said Akshay died in an exchange of fire in the police vehicle. They said the police shot him dead in self-defence.
“Akshay Shinde’s ex-wife had accused him of sexual violence and the police was taking him for a probe regarding these allegations. He snatched the gun of a police personnel opened fire. Police fired back in self-defence,” CM Shinde told reporters.
Fadnavis, who is also the state home minister, seconded the chain of events described by the chief minister and said police opened fire in self-defence. “The opposition raises questions on every issue. They had wanted him to be hanged. It is wrong to say such things when the police tried to save lives,” he said.
Thane Lok Sabha MP Naresh Mhaske, meanwhile, called the incident “nature’s justice” and accused the opposition of politicising it. He said the CM and his deputy are committed to keeping citizens safe, adding that the job of the police was to ensure “clean and crime-free society”.
“Two chargesheets were filed against Shinde, and I was the public prosecutor in both cases. Going by the submitted documents, there was sufficient evidence against Shinde. Maybe because of that, Shinde tried ending his life. We cannot rule out this possibility. A judicial probe will bring out the truth in this case,” said Ujjwal Nikam, who unsuccessfully fought the 2024 Lok Sabha polls on a BJP ticket.
“The two young girls had already identified Akshay Shinde, and the Maharashtra police had collected other evidence against him,” he said, adding that it would be inappropriate to jump to conclusions.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam said: “The encounter of the accused in the Badlapur incident is good news… Those who are raising questions on this encounter, I want to ask them are they standing with the accused or with the Maharashtra police… When this incident took place these were the people who were saying the accused should be publicly punished and today they are raising questions on this… I would appeal to all the opposition leaders to stand with the Maharashtra police instead of shedding tears for the accused…”
What is the opposition saying?
The incident, however, has drawn condemnation from the opposition parties who questioned the chain of events. They asked if this was a move to destroy evidence in a case that had triggered national outrage.
“Is it an attempt to destroy evidence? Were Akshay Shinde’s hands not tied by the police during the transit? How could he reach for the gun, and how come the police were so careless? We demand a judicial probe in this matter,” said Leader of Opposition in the assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar.
He said there has been no action against the “BJP-linked” school management, but an arrested accused is shot dead in suspicious circumstances. He added that “we have no trust in Badlapur police”.
In a post on X, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said the accused deserved to be hanged until death, but the incident that happened I reckless and suspicious. This led the CM to retaliate saying these parties are making such insensitive statements because they are rattled by the success of the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme.
बदलापूरच्या नराधमाने जे अमानुष कृत्य केलं होतं, त्याबद्दल त्याला कायद्याच्या चौकटीत राहून फाशीच व्हायला हवी होती. पण आज संध्याकाळी जे घडलं ते हलगर्जीपणाचं आणि संशयास्पद आहे. ह्या घटनेचा वापर करुन स्वतःची पाठ थोपटून घेणारे, राजकीय स्वार्थ साधू पाहणारे महाभागही आता पुढे येण्याची…— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) September 23, 2024
“The Badlapur case accused deserves to be hanged until death but what happened today evening is reckless and suspicious. Soon, people will start coming forward who would try to reap political gains and even pat their own back. Who is trying to save the directors of the school management board? Why have they not been found? Is today’s incident and they being on the run connected? There should be a neutral inquiry of this matter,” Aaditya Thackeray said in a post on X.
Hitting back, CM Shinde said, “Earlier, the opposition parties demanded that Akshay Shinde be hanged. Now, they are taking his side and questioning the integrity of Maharashtra police. Such act of the opposition leaders is condemnable and unfortunate.”
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 said.
Andhare further questioned how Akshay Shinde managed to snatch a gun despite being handcuffed and how he knew how to operate the firearm. Fadnavis must throw some light on these questions, she said, adding that “it shows the state home minister’s inability to handle critical cases”.
Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole said the incident must be probed by a sitting High Court judge. “We demand a detailed inquiry into the incident by a sitting HC judge so that all the facts come out. No one should be allowed to go scot-free. It is not clear whether the accused committed suicide or was killed. We do not trust this government, which cannot protect girls or give them justice,” he said, also alleging inefficiency on part of the Maharashtra police under DGP Rashmi Shukla.
Saying the accused was murdered in cold blood, Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said: “…Nobody will believe that it was an encounter. It is a black day for Maharashtra police as once upon a time it had a great reputation… I don’t believe Maharashtra police under the current dispensation will be able to do justice. The real perpetrators of this crime will never be found. People of Maharashtra would like to know the truth.”
Demanding an in-depth inquiry into the incident, in a post on X, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar said, “The accused should have been hanged as per the legal provisions, but the actions of the Home Department, while transferring him (from Taloja Jail) are questionable.”
बदलापूर येथे दोन चिमुरड्यांवर झालेल्या अन्यायाला न्याय मिळण्यासाठी कायद्याच्या योग्य चौकटीतून फाशी झालीच पाहीजे होती. परंतू या घटनेतील मुख्य आरोपीला स्थलांतरीत करताना गृह विभागाने दाखवलेला हलगर्जीपणा संशयास्पद आहे. भविष्यात अशा निंदनीय कृत्याची कल्पनाही कोणाच्या मनाला शिवणार नाही…— Sharad Pawar (@PawarSpeaks) September 23, 2024
NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule called the incident “shocking” and said: “The Mahayuti Government’s approach to the Badlapur sexual assault case of two minor girls is shocking! Delay in the filing of FIR first, and now the prime accused is killed in custody! This is an absolute breakdown of law enforcement and justice system. This is inexcusable, it deprives the people of Maharashtra of justice.”
(With PTI inputs)