Badlapur sexual assault accused shot dead trying to escape from cops

Days after a charge sheet was filed in the Badlapur sexual assault case involving minor girls the accused Akshay Shinde was shot dead by the Thane Crime Branch in an alleged act of selfdefence Shindersquos father Anna claimed that the cops were paid to carry out the shootout He also questioned why no one from the school had been arrested yet despite the administration being named in the charge sheetOfficials reported that a Crime Branch team had gone to Taloja Jail to take Shinde into custody for a separate case of unnatural sex based on a complaint from his exwife The FIR was registered by Badlapur police following an SIT investigation into the minorrsquos sexual assault case which included a statement from Shindersquos exwifeAccording to sources a team from Crime Branch Unit 1 Thane arrived at Taloja Jail with a courtissued warrant to take Shinde into custody After completing the necessary formalities they escorted him to a police vehicle around 530 pm Along with Shinde 12 police personnel were present in the van While en route to the Thane Crime Branch Shinde allegedly snatched a service pistol from API More and fired three rounds at the police personnel near the Mumbra Bypass He shot into the air and at officers1 The accused Akshay Shinde snatched the pistol from one of the police officers in the van and indiscriminately starts firingOne bullet hit API Nilesh More in the left thigh In selfdefence another officer PI Sanjay Shinde fired a round at Shinde critically injuring him The incident occurred between 600 pm and 615 pm Both Shinde and API More were rushed to Kalwa Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Civic Hospital where Shinde was declared brought dead and will be transferred to JJ hospital for a postmortem API More and the other injured personnel were referred to Jupiter hospital Thane for further treatmentldquoIn selfdefence our officer fired at him causing critical injuriesrdquo said Ashutosh Dumbre commissioner of Thane policeThe entire incident occurred inside the police vehicle raising questions about how Shinde accessed the firearm and managed to fire it Another concern is why Shindersquos hands were not cuffed given the severity of the case Doctors at Kalwa civic hospital refrained from detailing his injuries ldquoHe was brought dead due to a bullet injuryrdquo said Dr Rakesh Barot dean of Kalwa civic hospital2 One of the bullets hits API Nilesh More in the left thighShinde reportedly sustained two bullet injuries one to the left side of his head and another near his chin He was rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead During the scuffle one officer API Nilesh More was injured and is being treated at Jupiter hospital Two constables who reported chest pain after the incident are being treated at Kalwa civic hospitalShindersquos father Anna Shinde en route to Kalwa civic hospital after learning of his sonrsquos death claimed ldquoSomeone paid the cops to kill my son The charge sheet was only just filed and the court proceedings hadnrsquot even started The shootout sounds very suspiciousrdquoHe added ldquoThe school administration is also implicated in this case yet no action has been taken against them Meanwhile the cops have killed my son His death must be investigatedrdquoSangita Chendavankar Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president from Badlapur who spearheaded the protests over the case said ldquoThe case was moving through the courts and it could have taken years for a conviction But we are happy with todayrsquos outcome While we donrsquot know all the details yet we are relieved that Akshay Shinde is dead The victimrsquos family has endured much suffering repeatedly giving statements to various agencies Protesting families too faced harassment with some being booked and detainedrdquo3 In selfdefence another officer PI Sanjay Shinde fires at Shinde critically injuring him He is later rushed to the civic hospital where he is declared dead on arrival IllustrationsUday MohiteThe Thane police have formed SIT to probe death of Akshay Shinde According to sources Shinde was accompanied by four police men from Taloja identified as PI Sanjay Shinde API Nilesh More and two constables Whereas sources from Taloja prison have told midday that around 12 police men from Thane Crime Branch came to take his custodyThe two minors were allegedly abused in the school toilet in Badlapur on August 12 The accused was arrested on August 17Sources in the police department have stated that in such cases a magisterial inquiry should be conducted under Section 176 of the CrPC Inquiry by Magistrate into Cause of Death ldquoThere is another question if this is to be considered a custodial death then ideally the state CID should investigate However if it is deemed selfdefence the local Crime Branch or the police under the SIT can probe the matterrdquo said a senior officer of the state police speaking anonymouslyKin refuses to accept bodyAkshay Shindersquos family at Kalwa hospital has refused to claim his body alleging that it was a coldblooded murder by the police in collusion with the government They asserted that he would never have fired at the police as he didnrsquot know how to use a pistol and his hands would shake His mother mentioned that they met him today at Taloja Jail between 330 pm and 400 pm During the visit he spoke of mental torture by the police and asked when she would bring him out of prisonLawyerSpeakSenior advocate Sujay Kantawala stated ldquoThe Thane police cannot investigate their own case nor can they serve as judges in a situation under scrutiny A separate agency such as the State CID should handle such cases in Maharashtra While we all seek the harshest punishment for the accused this is not the appropriate way to handle the matterrdquo600615 pmTime of shootoutPolitical tutu mainmainOpposition parties have questioned the death of the Badlapur sexual assault case accusedCongress leader and exCM Prithviraj Chavan told a news channel that the incident had raised many doubts He wondered whether the accused was executed to protect the real culprits in the sexual assault case ldquoFirst the police said the accused attempted suicide Later they said they fired at him in selfdefence This is laughablerdquo he saidOpposition leader in the Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar demanded a judicial inquiry in the suspected killing ldquoWe will see this to its logical end and petition the governor for a judicial inquiryrdquo he addedCM Eknath Shinde decried the Oppositionrsquos stance of siding with the accused ldquoThe Oppositionrsquos comments are unfortunate They should have thought about the injured police officers too But they are scared because they see defeat in the elections It is out of this fear that they are levelling such baseless chargesrdquo said Shinde adding ldquoIt is the same Opposition that had demanded capital punishment for the accused in the caserdquoDeputy CM and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis confirmed that the police opened fire at the accused in selfdefence He concurred with the CMrsquos views about the Oppositionrsquos charges