Akshay Shinde, the accused in the Badlapur school sexual assault case, was shot dead by the Mumbai Police on Monday evening. According to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, the police fatally shot Akshay Shinde in self-defence after he reportedly snatched a policeman's gun and fired at an assistant inspector while inside the police vehicle. He was killed in retaliatory firing by a police officer who was part of the escort team, the CM said.
According to media reports, a police officer who pulled the trigger was known for involvement in "encounters." The officer in question is police inspector Sanjay Shinde, who reportedly fired the shot that claimed Akshay's life. Officer Sanjay himself and Assistant Police Inspector Nilesh More were the two cops injured by Akshay before he was neutralised, India Today said in a report.
Before he was asked to join the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Maharashtra government to probe the Badlapur case, he had worked with the anti-extortion cell of the Thane Police Crime Branch. Shinde also served the Mumbai Police in the not-very-distant past, the report added.
Sanjay Shinde was part of the team which arrested gangster Iqbal Kaskar, brother of terror kingpin Dawood Ibrahim. Kaskar was last arrested in February 2022 in a money laundering case following raids at multiple properties linked to him.
However, it was Inspector Shinde's time with the Thane Police Crime Branch that was the most noteworthy as the anti-extortion cell he was part of was led by Pradeep Sharma IPS, a well-known 'encounter specialist' in Maharashtra police circles. The former Mumbai Police personnel reportedly eliminated over 100 criminals during his years in service. The news report said that several members of the Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajan gangs were targeted by Sharma in the 1990s. He was known to have executed some high-profile encounters during those days of violent police action, the report said.
On Monday, Inspector Sanjay Shinde was included in the squad that was tasked to Akshay to Badlapur from Taloja jail when the incident happened.
Who was Akshay Shinde?
Akshay Shinde, 24, was accused of sexually abusing two girls in the school where he worked as an attendant. Massive protests erupted on streets and at Badlapur railway station over the incident that shocked Maharashtra.
His ex-wife had accused him of sexual violence and the police were taking him for a probe regarding these allegations when he allegedly snatched a police weapon and was killed in retalliatory fire. He was rushed to a hospital in Kalwa where he succumbed to his injuries.
Shinde's parents had met him in Taloja Jail at 3:30 PM. They claimed to have received information about his death through TV channels and not from police.
Tthe incident drew condemnation from the opposition parties who questioned the chain of events and also asked if it was a move to destroy evidence in a case that had triggered national outrage. "Is it an attempt to destroy evidence? Were Akshay Shinde's hands not tied by the police during the transit? How could he reach for the gun, and how come the police were so careless? We demand a judicial probe in this matter," Leader of Opposition in the assembly Vijay Wadettiwar said. There is no action against the "BJP-linked" school management but an arrested accused is shot dead in suspicious circumstances, he said, adding "we have no trust in Badlapur police".