Maharashtra's Crime Investigation Department (CID) will investigate the death of Akshay Shinde, the accused in the Badlapur sexual assault case, officials announced on Tuesday. Here are the top ten updates:
1. A team of forensic science experts examined the police vehicle in which Shinde was allegedly shot by a police officer on Monday evening. “A team of forensic science experts on Tuesday examined the police vehicle, in which Shinde was allegedly shot by a cop on Monday evening,” officials told PTI.
2. As the incident involves a death in police custody, it will be investigated by the Maharashtra CID, a senior official confirmed on Tuesday. A team of CID officials will visit the Mumbra Bypass site where the shooting occurred and will record statements from the police personnel present in the vehicle at that time, as well as from Akshay Shinde's parents, PTI reported.
3. On Tuesday morning, Shinde's body was transferred from Kalwa Civic Hospital in Thane to the state-run J.J. Hospital for a post-mortem, which will be conducted in-camera with expert doctors present. JJ Hospital Dean, Dr Pallavi Saple, said, “Mumbai police have brought the body (of accused Akshay Shinde) here. As soon as we get the papers, the postmortem procedure will start. Generally, 3 doctors are present at the time of postmortem. So, in this case, also we will have 3 doctors present...The government has issued guidelines to record the video of the postmortem...We hand over the body to the police after the postmortem.”
4. Shinde's father, Anna Shinde, has called for an inquiry into his son's death, and family members have disputed the police's claim that Akshay fired at an officer first, leading to the retaliatory shooting. Shinde, 24, was accused of sexually assaulting two minor girls at a school in Badlapur town of Thane district. A contractual sweeper at the school in Badlapur, Shinde, was arrested on August 17, five days after he allegedly sexually abused the two girls in the school toilet.
5. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday asked several questions regarding the Badlapur sexual assault case. Taking to micro-blogging platform X, Aaditya Thackeray wrote a post asking where the trustees of the Badlapur school wereand why they were being protected by the BJP-Mindhe regime.
6. Thackeray's post read “The real question is: 1) Where are the trustees of the Badlapur school? Why are they being protected by the BJP-Mindhe regime? 2) What about Mindhe's local chap, Waman Mhatre, who asked a journalist why she was questioning the incident as if she had been raped. Why is he being protected? 3) Will the cases against the citizens who protested be taken back? They were treated like gangsters. They were simply protesting against the refusal of the police to file a complaint from the victim for a week. Who was the police station protecting? It is understood that the trustees of the school have an affiliation with the BJP. And they are being protected. Is it true? Will the regime answer?”
7. Special Public Prosecutor, Senior Advocate, and BJP leader Ujjwal Nikam said that two chargesheets were filed against the culprit in the Badlapur sexual assault case and the police had enough proof against Akshay Shinde. “If the police had gone to the court with such strong proof, he would have gotten the death penalty. When the accused in such a case is aware that he has no chance of escaping, he can get violent,” he told ANI.
8. Nikam added, “Akshay Shinde could be psychologically depressed, and that is why he attacked the police or tried to commit suicide. The police had to resort to retaliatory firing, and two policemen were seriously injured. Unfortunately, many leaders are doing politics even on this incident. The truth will come out in the judicial inquiry. However, we should also remember that the politics are also affecting the policemen. We need to stop giving our comments until the judicial inquiry is out.”
9. Earlier, an official said, “He was killed near Mumbra bypass in Thane on Monday evening when he allegedly snatched the gun of a policeman while he was being ferried in a police vehicle as part of a probe into a case registered against him on the complaint of his former wife.” 410. After he shot and injured an API, another officer from the police escort team fired at him, and he was declared dead by doctors at the Kalwa civic hospital, the official said.
10. Sanjay Shinde, the police inspector who shot and killed Akshay Shinde has reportedly previously worked with the suspended former 'encounter specialist' Pradeep Sharma. Shinde was part of Sharma's team while leading the anti-extortion cell of the Thane Crime Branch, as noted by NDTV citing sources. Sharma is known for his role in the Netflix docuseries ‘Mumbai Mafia: Police vs The Underworld.’
(With inputs from agencies)
