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Badlapur encounter: HC doubts police version

By, Mumbai
Sep 26, 2024 12:59 AM IST

The Bombay High Court questioned the police's account of a controversial encounter killing of a suspect in a child abuse case, demanding a fair investigation.

The Bombay high court on Wednesday raised serious doubts over a controversial police encounter in Maharashtra two days ago that killed a man accused of sexually abusing minors, insisting that the probe into the incident be fair and impartial.

Posters in Mumbai shows Devendra Fadnavis with message, "Badla Pura" (Revenge completed). (Raju Shinde/HT Photo)
Posters in Mumbai shows Devendra Fadnavis with message, "Badla Pura" (Revenge completed). (Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

Akshay Shinde, a cleaner who was accused last month of assaulting two four-year-old girls in a pre-primary school in Badlapur East, was killed while in police custody on Monday.

Police said the incident occurred when the 24-year-old snatched a policeman’s gun and fired three rounds at him, injuring him in the leg. He was killed in retaliatory firing, the police added.

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But on Wednesday, a division bench of justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan punched several holes into this version of events. It asked the police if the officers were negligent and careless, how one man overpowered four officers, how he snatched a pistol from armed personnel and undid the safety latch, and why he was shot in the head instead of in the legs.

“We are not suspecting the police on their activities, but come clean on all aspects,” the court said, adding that it would be constrained to pass appropriate orders if the probe was not conducted properly.

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“This is hard to believe. Prima facie, this cannot be trusted” the court added.

The developments came on a day chief minister Eknath Shinde defended the police and said officers shot Shinde in self-defence, even as posters featuring deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s face and the words “Badla Pura” (revenge completed) came up across Mumbai. The Opposition has alleged that the encounter was a bid to shield the management of the school where the rapes occurred, and flagged it as an example of an extrajudicial killing in order to impart “instant justice” for political gain.

The high court was hearing a petition by Shinde’s father Anna Shinde, who alleged his son was killed in a fake encounter.

“He wasn’t of huge built or a strong man. This is very difficult to accept. This cannot be termed as an encounter,” the judges said. “What is the SOP or guidelines when an accused, especially in such a serious crime, is taken in custody? Why should they (police) be so negligent and careless?” they asked.

The officer who shot at the accused was an inspector with experience in how to react in such a situation, the court noted, and asked why Shinde was shot in the head.

“Ordinarily, the retaliation would be on the leg or arm. Why directly on the head? Does he not know where the shot has to be fired? It may have been spontaneous. The first reaction should have been to disarm him,” the court said.

It also questioned the police’s assertion that Shinde managed to seize the pistol and opened fire.

“This is very hard to believe. I have fired a pistol a hundred times. It is hard to unlock and fire. We are not suspecting at this stage but just looking at the possibilities. Revolver is easier. Any Tom, Dick or Harry can do it. But a pistol is very hard to fire,” the court said.

The high court also questioned how one man could overpower four officers from the Thane crime branch.

“Four officers were there in the vehicle. One of the officers was involved in encounters in the past. Four officers couldn’t overpower the accused? How can we believe they couldn’t overpower the accused. The accused was not hefty or strong. You all could have overpowered him,” the court said.

The bench asked if the shot fired at Shinde was from a distance or point-blank range, if it was a ricochet or direct shot, and if it was a brush of the bullet of through-and-through shot.

“We want to know whether it was point-blank range...distance from where the shot was fired. Ballistic experts would know. Was it an entry and exit wound? If yes, where was the exit,” it said.

All these details would have to be submitted on the next date, the court said, adding: “The investigation has to be done fairly and impartially. If we find this is not done, then we would be constrained to pass appropriate orders.”

It posted the matter for further hearing on October 3, when the police have to take a decision on the complaint submitted by Shinde’s father, seeking a first information report against the four officers.

The court also directed that all case papers be immediately handed over to the Maharashtra Crime Investigation Department (CID), which will be probing the case.

“Why are files not handed over to CID yet? Preservation of evidence is vital. Any delay on your part would raise doubts and speculations,” it said.

The high court’s sharp observations are likely to add to the swirling controversy around the Badlapur rape, and now the encounter death.

The sexual assault cases sent shock waves across Maharahtra last month, when Badlapur East police booked Shinde, who was part of the cleaning staff at the school, for sexually assaulting two four-year-old kindergarten girls in the school premises. The cases had rocked Maharashtra and prompted widespread protests.

A third case against Shinde was initially registered in Boisar, and was transferred to the Badlapur police station last week. A 23-year-old woman in her complaint stated that she married Shinde in 2021, who forced her to have “unnatural sex” with him.

The encounter has kicked up a political storm. On Wednesday, Shinde defended the police.

“The police shot in self-defence. They had guns not for a showpiece. If he had fled, the Opposition would have criticised and said that we made him flee. The cops got injured in the encounter. We should support the police,” Shinde said at the India Today Conclave Mumbai.

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Meanwhile the Opposition attacked the government saying it was a “planned killing” to cover up other accused involved in the case. The other accused in the case, who are trustees of the school, are still absconding.

Leader of the opposition leader in the Maharashtra assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar, sought a probe into the role of the officer who shot dead the accused. “His role needs to be probed. It is also need to be clear whether the whole thing was done to help the ruling parties which are on their way out,” he said.

In the court, the division bench directed the police to collect forensic samples of the hands of the deceased and the four police officers to verify if there was any residue from the use of pistols.

Amit Katarnaware, representing Anna Shinde, told the court that the parents met Shinde the day he was killed, and that he inquired about his bail. “This shows he (Shinde) was not in a mental state to take any such drastic step,” he said.He added that around an hour before the Thane crime branch took his custody, Akshay’s parents met him at Taloja jail, where he asked them to send him some him some money to buy food in prison.

Shinde’s parents want to take custody of the body but are unable to find a burial site for the final rites, he said. Public prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar said the police would get in touch with local authorities and make necessary arrangements.

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