The Thane Police on Tuesday said that the Badlapur rape accused, who was shot dead by the police, snatched a service pistol from Sub-Inspector Nilesh More’s waist and fired three rounds at the police team. While Nilesh More suffered injuries in the left thigh, senior inspector Sanjay Shinde fired the final shot that took down the accused in an encounter that snowballed a political row in Maharashtra.
After the incident, four empty bullet shells and blood samples were collected from the police vehicle for further investigation into the matter, said officials.
The Thane crime branch was escorting Akshay Shinde, arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two four-year-old girls at a school in Badlapur last month, from Taloja Central Jail to Thane for questioning related to a case registered against him last week by his estranged second wife at the Boisar police station.
The Badlapur rape accused was booked under section 377 (Unnatural Sex) of the Indian Penal Code and the case was transferred to Thane for investigation by the crime branch. The police team took his custody around 5:30 pm on Monday from Taloja jail, where he was lodged. With four armed officers in the vehicle, the accused was being taken to Thane when the encounter occurred.
What Thane Police Said?
- When the police vehicle, escorting the accused from Taloja jail to Thane, reached the Mumbra Bypass, Akshay Shinde snatched the pistol of assistant police inspector Nilesh More and fired three rounds at him, one of which hit him in the thigh.
- In ‘self-defence,’ senior inspector Sanjay Shinde fired one round at the accused and took him down in the police vehicle.
- Both the injured police officer and the accused were immediately taken to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Government Hospital in Kalwa, where Akshay Shinde was declared dead.
- The blood samples and four empty bullet shells have also been recovered from the vehicle where the encounter with the police and the accused took place.
Family Cries Conspiracy
The mother of the Badlapur sexual assault case accused Akshay Shinde, who was shot dead in a police encounter, refuted the claims of Maharashtra Police regarding the events that led to his death and alleged that he was killed as part of a ‘conspiracy.’
She said, “The police have killed our child. The school management must also be probed. The police got him to write something but we don’t know what it is,” his mother said. “My son was afraid of bursting crackers and crossing the road. How can he shoot at policemen?”
Political Row Erupts: Who Said What
The Badlapur rape accused’s encounter stoked a massive political row with Eknath Shinde-led state government defending police action, and opposition accusing the Maharashtra Police of carelessness during transit.
“He (Akshay Shinde) was taken for investigation as his ex-wife has registered a case of sexual assault. He fired on a police personnel, Nilesh More who got injured and has been admitted to hospital. Police in self-defence took that action. More information will come out after investigation,” Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also supported the government’s stance on the case and slammed the opposition for criticising the police. “He was taken to the hospital. Doctors will declare it later but the preliminary information that we have is that he has died. Opposition raises questions on everything, the same opposition was asking to hang him. If he had attacked the police, wouldn’t the police do the self-defence? It’s wrong to create any issue out of it,” Fadnavis said.
However, opposition leader Vijay Wadettiwar called for a judicial probe into the incident, terming the accused’s death as suspicious. “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,” he said.
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