Badlapur locals happy with ‘encounter’ of Akshay Shinde, distribute sweets

THANE: The main accused in the case of sexually assaulting two nursery students in a Badlapur school died in retaliatory firing after he allegedly snatched a policeman's gun in a van and opened fire on Monday evening, said police.

The 24-year-old accused, who was a sweeper in the school, snatched a revolver and fired three rounds at 6.15pm, claimed the police. Another cop returned fire in self-defence and hit him. The accused succumbed to his injuries in hospital.

The sexual assault case had triggered national outrage, but police denied suggestions of an "encounter killing". Deputy CM Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio, and CM Shinde said the police fired in self-defence after he opened fire at them.

But the accused's family members alleged the police murdered him and sought a probe. His mother said, "My son cannot kill a mosquito, how will he fire at the police?"

MVA netas also called for a high-level probe. "We have reasons to believe the law-enforcement agencies wanted to wind up the case," said Congress's Nana Patole.

Local residents distribute sweets

The family of the accused in the Badlapur school sexual assault case refused to accept his body after he died in police firing in a transit van and demanded a detailed probe into the circumstances leading to the killing. “The claims made by the police are baseless,” said his mother, referring to claims that he snatched a gun and opened fire.

“I have preliminary information that when police were bringing him for investigation in a fresh case filed by his wife related to sexual assault, the incident occurred. We will get to know more about it, as police are still probing the incident,” said chief minister Eknath Shinde.

When the vehicle neared Mumbra bypass, the accused snatched the revolver of assistant police inspector Nilesh More. In response, another officer opened fire on the accused, injuring him.

Sanjay Shinde, senior inspector of the Central crime branch, returned fire in selfdefence, resulting in the accused’s death. One bullet hit his temple, police said. More is undergoing treatment for bullet injuries on this thigh, the police said.

The sexual assault took place in the school toilet on Aug 12 and five days later the accused was arrested. A massive protest followed the arrest with local citizens blocking the tracks on Aug 20 disrupting train services for over 10 hours. They demanded street justice by way of hanging him in public. Govt promised to try the case in a fast track court but it fell on deaf ears. Later, police resorted to lathi charge to disperse the crowd. The protesters also vandalised the school.

In Badlapur, late on Monday, local citizens distributed sweets and said they were happy with the “encounter”.

The case had put tremendous pressure on the state govt with the assembly elections planned in Nov. Bombay high court during several hearings expressed displeasure at the probe saying the cops took more than 11 hours before the FIR was registered. The court also questioned the police for not making the school management accused as they delayed in reporting the incident as mandated under the law. The opposition had highlighted the case to say the law-and-order situation in the state had collapsed. It had even called for a statewide bandh but was called off after the high court denied permission.

Shiv Sena MP from Thane, Naresh Mhaske, defended the incident, questioning how the opposition was showing double standards. Initially, they demanded that he be hanged in public, and now they are questioning the action, which was possibly done in self-defence. “There were busloads coming to Badlapur with placards demanding capital punishment for the accused. This is nature’s law,” he said. MNS MLA Pramod (Raju) Patil congratulated the police.

However, the opposition questioned the chain of events and also asked if it was a move to destroy evidence. NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Monday demanded a high-level probe. “In fact, he should have been hanged. It was gross negligence and dereliction of duty by the home department while shifting the accused. It appears that the home department has not been able to tackle the situation,” Pawar posted on X.

MPCC president Nana Patole demanded a judicial probe by a sitting judge of the Bombay high court. “We have reasons to believe the law-enforcement agencies wanted to wind up the entire case,” Patole said.