Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has defended the police encounter of Akshay Shinde, the man accused of sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl in Badlapur. Speaking at the India Today Mumbai Conclave, the Chief Minister emphasized that the police acted in self-defense and that their firearms are not "showpieces." He added that had the accused escaped, the opposition would have criticized the government. As per police, when Shinde was being taken from Taloja jail to Badlapur, he snatched a gun from a police official and opened fire. Police say that Shinde was killed as the officials returned fire as self-defense.
There was immense public anger against Shinde after the sexual assault. Locals staged multiple rail-roko at Badlapur railway station in day following the sexual assault. "The woman had filed an FIR against him (Akshay Shinde). She gave a statement and said he was a monster. He had four wives. Imagine what cruelty he had meted out to them," he said in the Mumbai conclave. "When he had sexually assaulted those girls (in Badlapur) who are the same age as his daughters, imagine what they (victims) had gone through. This is an unfortunate incident," he said.
Although nothing incriminating has been raised officially, the police officers involved in the encounter are facing allegations that they killed Akshay Shinde in a 'staged' encounter. On Wednesday, Bombay High Court directed the state CID to look into the allegations after Shinde's father approached the court. The court has ordered a probe into the encounter. “The investigation has to be done fairly and impartially. If we find that this is not done then we would be constrained to pass appropriate orders,” a bench of Justices Revati Dere and Prithviraj Chavan said. Shinde was booked under section 377 (unnatural sex) of the Indian Penal Code. According to the police, when the vehicle carrying him reached the Mumbra Bypass, Shinde allegedly snatched the pistol of assistant police inspector Nilesh More and fired three shots at him, one of him hit the officer in his thigh. Senior Inspector Sanjay Shinde fired a round at the accused, which struck him in the head. Akshay Shinde was taken to the hospital, but was declared dead on arrival. Akshay Shinde's killing in a police encounter has triggered a political war of words between the ruling Mahayuti government and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi.