THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
Mumbai, Sept 25: The Badlapur encounter has become embroiled in controversy. On Wednesday, the Bombay High Court, while hearing a petition filed by the father of Akshay Shinde, accused of sexually assaulting girls at a school in Badlapur, raised several questions about the police’s actions.
The petition was heard by a bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Prithviraj Chavan.
Justice Chavan, part of the bench hearing the petition, remarked that it is very difficult to trust the police’s account. He noted that prima facie there appears to be a discrepancy in the encounter and questioned why the police shot the accused in the head, suggesting that the accused could have been spared from being shot.
The Bombay High Court questioned why the police did not attempt to subdue the accused before shooting him. The court emphasized that the investigation into Akshay Shinde’s death must be conducted in a fair and transparent manner. It also inquired about why the police had unlocked the pistol, noting that a physically weak individual would not be able to quickly unlock and fire a revolver.
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Father alleges his son was killed in a fake encounter
Akshay Shinde’s father has alleged that his son’s encounter was staged. He has filed a petition in the High Court demanding that an SIT investigate his son’s death.
Meanwhile, opposition parties are also raising questions about the encounter. As political tensions over the encounter case have escalated, the Maharashtra government has transferred the investigation to the CID as of Tuesday.
Akshay was accused of sexually abusing school girls in Badlapur
Akshay was accused of sexually abusing girls in a school in Badlapur. His ex-wife had also filed a sexual harassment case against him.
The police had taken him from Taloja jail to Badlapur for investigation in the sexual harassment case of his ex-wife.
According to Maharashtra’s Shinde government, while returning to jail after the investigation, Akshay snatched a revolver from a police officer and allegedly fired three bullets at the policemen. One bullet hit Assistant Police Inspector Sanjay Shinde’s thigh. In police retaliation, Akshay was shot in the head, which led to his death.