Badlapur Sexual Assault: Accused Akshay Shinde shot dead by police in encounter

Mumbai: The Thane police crime branch killed Akshay Shinde, arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two four-year-old girls at a school in Badlapur last month, in an encounter on Monday evening, allegedly after he snatched a police officer’s gun and shot three rounds at him.
According to the police, the Thane crime branch was escorting Shinde from Taloja Central Jail for questioning related to a case registered against him last week by his estranged second wife at the Boisar police station. The 24-year-old was booked under section 377 (unnatural sex) of the Indian Penal Code. The case was later transferred to Thane and taken over by the crime branch.
The crime branch took Shinde’s custody around 5.30 pm on Monday from Taloja jail, where he was lodged. A team of around 10 policemen was escorting him from the jail in a police vehicle, with four armed officers seated next to him, said a senior police officer.
As the vehicle reached the Mumbra Bypass, Shinde allegedly snatched the pistol of assistant police inspector Nilesh More and fired three rounds at him, one of which hit him in the thigh. In response, senior inspector Sanjay Shinde fired one round at Akshay Shinde, which struck him in the head. Shinde was then taken to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital, Kalwa, where he was declared dead, the senior police officer said. His body was taken to JJ Hospital in Mumbai for post-mortem on Monday evening.
Shinde’s mother, Alka Shinde, refused to buy the claims made by the Thane police. When contacted by HT, she said, “I met him (Akshay) around 4:30 pm in Taloja jail on Monday. I had been waiting to see him since morning but finally got a chance to talk to him for 15 minutes. He told me that the charge sheet had been filed in his case and asked if I was trying to get him out of jail. He said that when I visited him last Monday, he had been beaten by the police.”
Alka Shinde also alleged that her son’s killing was planned and executed at the best of some political leaders. “My son feared Diwali crackers. I would always drop him off at school or the office during Diwali because he was terrified of the noise. It is unbelievable that he took a gun and shot some rounds.”
She added that her son had always denied committing the crimes. “Even if he had committed it, the government and police should have faith in their own investigation and the courage to handle this case fairly. A fair punishment, even if it had been the death penalty, would have been justified. But this is a bigger crime that my son didn’t even get a chance to fight his case. Akshay cannot do this, and I will fight for his justice,” she said.
Shinde was arrested on August 17 for allegedly sexually assaulting two four-year-old girls studying at a school in Badlapur earlier that month. The incident, along with the school management’s negligence and the Badlapur police’s delay in registering an FIR, became a flashpoint for thousands of protestors to erupt on the streets and the railway tracks in Badlapur on August 20.
The Maharashtra government then appointed a Special Investigative Team led by senior IPS officer Arti Singh to take charge of the case and said it would be fast-tracked. On September 16, the SIT filed its first charge sheet in the case, based on the complaint of one of the girls. The chargesheet contains medical reports, which state that the prolonged sexual assault of the four-year-old from August 5-12 broke her hymen and left her with deep injuries.
On September 19, the SIT filed the second charge sheet, based on the second girl’s complaint. According to her complaint, Shinde took her to a washroom in the school on August 13 and sexually assaulted her. The girl returned home and immediately informed her parents about the incident. She was taken to a private doctor, who confirmed that the child was sexually assaulted.
The following day, the girl’s parents went to the school and informed the principal about the incident. However, they were allegedly told that the incident could not have happened on the school premises. When the parents requested the school’s CCTV footage, they were told that it wasn’t available.
The SIT held the school authorities responsible for negligence, while also naming principal Archana Athavale, and the chairman and secretary of the trust that runs the school, Uday Kotwal and Tushar Apte respectively, as co-accused in the FIR. They were booked for allegedly failing to report the incident to the police. The police, too, did not take prompt action, according to the charge sheet.