Badlapur POCSO accused killed in police custody. ‘Victim of conspiracy,’ claims family

A political row has also erupted with the Opposition dismissing the official version that police fired at him in 'self-defence' and terming the incident a 'fake encounter'.

File photo of Akshay Shinde, accused in Badlapur school sexual assault case

Mumbai: Akshay Shinde, accused of sexually assaulting two minor girls at a school in Badlapur town of Maharashtra’s Thane district died in police custody Monday evening. According to “preliminary information”, he allegedly snatched the revolver of an assistant police inspector (API), opened fire, and died in resultant retaliatory firing.

Terming the incident “quite unfortunate,” CM Eknath Shinde told the media, “His former wife accused him of sexual assault and he was being taken for interrogation when he snatched a service weapon and fired at API Nilesh More. The police fired in retaliation.”

Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, too defended the police saying they fired in “self-defence” after Akshay Shinde snatched a service weapon while he was being taken to Thane in connection with the police probe into allegations against him.

According to a statement by the police released late Monday, a team of police officers had gone to Taloja jail to claim Shinde’s custody in a separate case registered on the complaint of his former wife.

They escorted him to a police vehicle around 5.30 pm and when the vehicle was near the Mumbra bypass between 6-6:15 pm, Akshay allegedly fired at the police. In retaliation, an officer fired at him, when he allegedly snatched the gun of a policeman.

After he shot and injured an assistant police inspector, another personnel fired at him. He was then taken to Kalwa civil hospital, where he was declared dead by the doctors.

However, the family of the accused refused to claim his body from the hospital, alleging that he was a victim of cold-blooded murder at the hands of the police in collusion with the government.

Speaking to media persons outside the hospital Monday night, Akshay’s mother and uncle claimed that the police and management of the Badlapur school had conspired against him.

They alleged that Akshay had told his kin that he was being beaten up in police custody. Questioning the police’s version of the incident, the mother and uncle asserted that he could not have snatched the weapon of a policeman. He was not depressed, they claimed.

“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,” they added.

“My son was afraid of bursting crackers and crossing the road. How can he shoot at policemen?” Akshay’s mother said.

‘Self-defence’ vs ‘fake encounter’

The Opposition in the state also dismissed the official version with some even terming the incident a “fake encounter”. NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader and former state home minister Anil Deshmukh dubbed the self-defence argument a “pretence” and alleged that this “fake narrative of the encounter is being set to save BJP office bearers”.

बदलापूर घटनेतील आरोपी अक्षय शिंदेचा एन्काऊंटर झाल्याचे वृत्त समजले. स्वसंरक्षणाचा हा बनाव विश्वास ठेवण्यासारखा नाही. दोन्ही हातात बेड्या असलेला माणूस पोलिसांचेही पिस्तूल कसे हिसकाऊ शकतो.

सदर प्रकरणातील
आरोपी अक्षय शिंदे जेवढा दोषी होता तितकेच दोषी शाळा चालक भाजप पदाधिकारी देखील…

— ANIL DESHMUKH (@AnilDeshmukhNCP) September 23, 2024

Deshmukh’s statement appears to be a reference to an earlier allegation by the Opposition that one of the trustees of the private school in Thane where the alleged sexual assault of the two minor girls took place in August year, the same case in which Akshay Shinde was arrested and booked under relevant sections of the POCSO Act, has ties to the BJP.

Congress state president Nana Patole asked if this was “done as a part of a larger conspiracy to suppress the matter”.

बदलापूरमधील चिमुरड्यांवरील अत्याचार प्रकरणातील आरोपी अक्षय शिंदे याचा पोलीस एन्काऊंटर मध्ये मृत्यू झाल्याची बातमी येत आहे.

शिंदे याने पोलिसांची बंदूक हिसकावून स्वत:वर आणि पोलिसांवर गोळीबार केला व पोलिसांनी स्वसंरक्षणार्थ केलेल्या गोळीबारात त्याचा मृत्यू झाल्याची माहिती मिळतेय.…

— Nana Patole (@NANA_PATOLE) September 23, 2024

Sushma Andhare of the Shiv Sena (UBT) said while Akshay Shinde “was no saint,” due process should have been followed. “… he should have been hanged to death but by due process of law. Is his encounter a way to suppress the truth in the case,” she remarked.

Fadnavis, however, responded to criticism by the Opposition, saying that he felt “politicising the issue is wrong”.

“The Opposition earlier demanded that this accused be hanged and now they are questioning the police. Should the police not defend themselves,” he asked.

Police arrested 24-year-old Akshay Shinde on 17 August for allegedly sexually assaulting two four-year-old girls in the washroom of a private school in Badlapur where he worked as a cleaner. The arrests were preceded by widespread protests by parents and local residents who demanded prompt action. 

Taking note of their demands, the Maharashtra government announced the formation of a special investigation team (SIT) headed by senior IPS officer Arti Singh to probe the allegations.

The school management responded to uproar by suspending the principal, a class teacher and a woman attendant.

Earlier this month, the Bombay High Court took suo motu cognizance and directed the police to build a “watertight” case.

(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)