The day following the police encounter of Akshay Shinde, the man accused of sexually assaulting two four-year-olds in a Badlapur school last month; , his father, Anna Shinde, and the lawyer of the two minors’ families, Asim Sarode, filed separate petitions in the Bombay high court seeking a special investigation team (SIT) be constituted to probe the incident.
The accused man’s father claimed that his 24-year-old son’s death was a cold-blooded murder committed by people in uniform, Anna Shinde requested the high court to monitor the SIT’s investigation. The petition is listed for hearing before a division bench of justice Revati Mohite Dere and justice Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday.
Sarode’s petition also sought a court-monitored probe into the encounter, saying that “the process of justice has been compromised seemingly in a pre-planned manner”. The petition questioned how a handcuffed accused could have overpowered police officers, disarmed them, unlocked the gun and fired three shots at them.
A case has been filed against Shinde at the Mumbra police station for allegedly attempting to kill police personnel, according to Thane police public relations officer (PRO) Shailesh Salvi at a press conference on Tuesday. However, Salvi declined to answer questions regarding whether Shinde was handcuffed, how he could have snatched an officer’s gun if he was restrained, and how the officer’s service pistol was unlocked, stating those details would be available only after the investigation concluded.
A senior Thane police officer, who wished to remain anonymous, noted that a pistol can be accidentally unlocked during a struggle, mentioning he has witnessed such incidents during practice sessions. He assured that standard protocol was followed in Shinde’s case, and the officers were carrying loaded firearms.
Salvi provided details from police inspector (PI) Sanjay Shinde’s statement regarding the incident. Initially, PI Shinde was seated in the front of the police van with the driver and assistant police inspector (API) Nilesh More, while two police constables, Abhijieet More and Harish Tawde, were in the rear with Akshay Shinde.
When the van reached Mumbra Bypass, Akshay Shinde allegedly began to question where he was being taken and verbally abused the constables. In response, API More and PI Shinde moved to the rear section of the van to calm him down.
Around 6:15 PM, as the van approached the steps to Mumbra Devi temple, Akshay Shinde allegedly attempted to grab API More’s service weapon. During the struggle, the gun discharged, hitting API More in the thigh, as detailed in PI Shinde’s statement. Injured, API More reportedly lost control of his weapon, which Akshay Shinde then seized and fired two rounds at the other officers. Fortunately, the shots missed, and in self-defense, PI Shinde fired at Akshay, injuring him.
API More was taken to Jupiter Hospital in Thane for treatment of a flesh wound, while Akshay Shinde was transported to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa, where he was pronounced dead. His body was later sent to Grant Medical College & Sir JJ Group of Hospitals in Mumbai for a post-mortem on Monday evening.
The post-mortem report, conducted by a team of five doctors led by Dr. BG Chikhalkar, noted a single bullet wound on the left side of Akshay Shinde’s head. The cause of death was attributed to shock and bleeding, with no foreign objects found on the body. The Mumbra police received the body and post-mortem report on Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile, the Thane police have reported the incident to the National Human Rights Commission, the state CID, and the Maharashtra director general of police, emphasizing that the accused was killed in retaliatory firing after attempting to attack the officers escorting him from Taloja jail. The state CID will take over the investigation into Akshay Shinde’s death.
Local resident Jamil Shaikh recounted seeing the police van stop on the roadside on Monday. “At first, we thought someone had just stopped to relieve themselves. But then we heard three gunshots and saw a policeman quickly start the van before they drove off toward Kalwa.”
Akshay Shinde had been arrested on August 17, working as a cleaner at a Badlapur school, following alleged sexual assaults in the girls’ toilet. The case prompted significant public outcry, leading to protests in Badlapur on August 20 due to the school management’s negligence and delays by the police in filing an FIR. The Maharashtra government subsequently established a Special Investigative Team, led by senior IPS officer Arti Singh, to expedite the case. The SIT filed two charge sheets earlier this month based on complaints from the two girls involved.
One of the charge sheets 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. The other charge sheet held the school authorities responsible for negligence and also said the Badlapur police did not take prompt action after the parents of the minor approached them.
