Adding to a string of perceived failures in handling of the sexual assault case at a school in Thane's Badlapur, prime accused Akshay Shinde was allegedly killed after an encounter by the Thane police on Monday, 23 September.
The incident comes a month after residents of Badlapur on 20 August took to streets and blocked trains after Shinde sexually assaulted at least two four-year-old minors in the school premises.
While the police is yet to issue an official statement, deputy chief minister and state's home minister Devendra Fadnavis told the media that Akshay Shinde was being taken to Badlapur crime branch from Taloja prison when he forcefully snatched a constable's gun inside the police vehicle while it was on the Mumbra flyover and fired indiscriminately, following which he was killed in retaliatory firing.
Assistant Police Inspector (API) Nilesh More was reportedly shot in the leg during the exchange, he said.
Police personnel at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital after Akshay Shinde, an accused in Badlapur school sexual assault case, shot dead by the police allegedly in self-defence, in Thane, Monday, 23 September, 2024.
(Photo: PTI)
While Opposition leaders have alleged that the encounter has been conducted to "shield the higher up accused," the handling of the case by the Thane police has raised doubts since the beginning, with allegations of delay in taking the families' complaint and accused school management members still absconding.
But before further details of the alleged lapses, a quick overview of the case:
Two four-year-old minors were allegedly sexually assaulted by Shinde (23) in the school's washroom on 12 and 13 August.
An FIR was registered on 16 August and Shinde was arrested the next day
Protests by Badlapur residents against the school and police's alleged lapses turned violent on 20 August, with train tracks being blocked for over nine hours, stone-pelting at police personnel, and lathi-charge to control the situation.
The politics over trustees of the school having links to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has continued.
'No Handcuffs? No Pistol Lock?': Badlapur Accused's 'Encounter' & Major Lapses
1. Delay in Filing FIR, Recording Statements
One of the key reasons behind the ire of the protesters last month was the alleged delay in registering the FIR. While the crimes took place on 12 and 13 August, the FIR was filed only on 16 August after the parents themselves were assisted by local leaders of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
The parents claimed that not only did the school fail to file a complaint after they informed the principal, as is mandated by the POCSO act, but the police also took 12 hours to file the FIR.
The Police Inspector, Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police, and head constable present at the time of filing the complaint were suspended following the outrage.
On 23 August, the Bombay High Court also pulled up the Thane police for delay in filing the FIR and subsequently recording statements of the families while hearing a suo motu PIL.
“We are appalled by the fact that the Badlapur police has not taken any steps to record the statement of the second victim girl, till date. It appears that only after the suo motu PIL was registered yesterday that the statement of the father of one of the victims, was recorded belatedly, post midnight,” the bench said, as quoted by The Indian Express.
Advocate General Birendra Saraf had assured the court that all required statements will be recorded promptly in the future, following which the bench asked for details of the probe conducted by the Badlapur police to be submitted to court before it handed over the case to the SIT in the next hearing.
Expand2. Trustee, Principal Named in FIR Still 'Absconding'
On 26 August, advocate Priyesh Jadhav representing the survivors told an Ulhasnagar court that at least three accused named in the FIR - trustee Tushar Apte, trust's chief Jay Kotwal, and principal Archana Athavale were absconding.
A month since the FIR, the police has failed to arrest them.
While the school's administration was under scrutiny, the principal and the trustee had been blaming each other over the alleged delay in taking action.
Who is Apte and why is he specifically being targeted?
According to the website of the Adarsh Vidya Prasarak Sanstha that runs the Adarsh school where the incident took place, Apte has been listed as the 'Secretary' under the list of the board of trustees.
On Apte's Facebook profile, which has been inactive since 2021, he calls himself president of the Ambernath district public welfare committee of the BJP. In most party banners on his Facebook profile, he features with his brother Chetan Sharad Apte, then BJP vice president for Badlapur city.
Speaking to The Quint, Nandkishor Gopal Patkar, another trustee and also a BJP leader said: "Apte used to be with the BJP. But during the last nagar parishad elections, he had rebelled and contested independently after being denied a ticket."
Expand3. 'Was He Not Handcuffed?': Questions On Akshay Shinde's Encounter
Akshay Shinde's family, along with several Opposition leaders, raised questions on the sequence of events leading to his death.
Alleging that their son was murdered, Shinde's family told the media that they met him in prison on Monday itself and called the encounter a "conspiracy by the police."
"How can my son fire shots with a pistol? Did he know how to use a pistol?" his mother told the media on Monday.
"He could not have done what is being claimed. When we met him in prison today, he asked us to send him money for food," his uncle Amar Shinde told the media.
Speaking to ABP Majha, Ujjwal Nikam, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and advocate who was the state's prosecutor in the case said that several claims over the encounter are subject to a judicial probe.
"It is too premature to comment on the claims right now. But was Akshay Shinde not handcuffed? Was the pistol that he snatched not locked? All these answers can be found only in a judicial probe," Nikam said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare, in a video shared on social media said that while demanding death penalty for Akshay Shinde, the course of law should have been upheld.
"The Badlapur case followed the script of the Hyderabad rape case where four accused were encountered. If Akshay Shinde was of such a criminal mindset, why weren't enough precautions taken when he was being transferred? Is it even possible to snath a policeman's gun while he was handcuffed? Akshay Shinde's shot hit the policeman's leg but the police's shot hit Akshay Shinde fatally?" Andhare asked.
"There were doubts on the fairness of the probe since the first day. Why has accused trustee Tushar Apte not been arrested yet?" she added, further demanding a CBI enquiry in the matter and resignation of home minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The Opposition leaders have been claiming that the encounter was carried out to "shield someone."
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Fadnavis both said that a detailed probe will be conducted into the events of the evening, but defended the Thane police.
"The Opposition is seeing the sands slip from beneath their feet. On one hand, they were demanding death penalty for Akshay Shinde. But today they are questioning the policemen who were injured by him," CM Shinde told the media.
Expand4. The SIT's Probe & What the Chargesheets Say
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by state's home ministry is being headed by Inspector General Aarti Singh. It filed two chargesheets after it took over the probe from the Badlapur police.
In one of its first moves on 21 August, a day after the protests flared, the SIT booked the school's management under POCSO for "failing to file a complaint" as mandated under Section 21 of the POCSO act.
On 27 August, the SIT told the special POCSO court that it will conduct an ID parade of accused Akshay Shinde.
As per the chargesheets filed by the SIT last week:
Akshay Shinde confessed to committing the crimes to the doctors while his medical exam was being conducted
Statements of both minor girls were recorded and the had also identified Shinde during an ID parade
Since school's CCTVs were dysfunctional, footage from municipal corporation's CCTVs was used as evidence to establish his presence on the school premises on the days of the crime.
Several stringent sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) were invoked, including Section 74 (assaulting or using criminal force against a woman), Section 75 (sexual harassment), and Section 76 (intent to disrobe or compel a woman to be naked), Section 65(2) (rape under 12 years of age), and with five stringent sections of POCSO act.
(With inputs from LiveLaw, ABP Majha and The Indian Express.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
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Delay in Filing FIR, Recording Statements
One of the key reasons behind the ire of the protesters last month was the alleged delay in registering the FIR. While the crimes took place on 12 and 13 August, the FIR was filed only on 16 August after the parents themselves were assisted by local leaders of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
The parents claimed that not only did the school fail to file a complaint after they informed the principal, as is mandated by the POCSO act, but the police also took 12 hours to file the FIR.
The Police Inspector, Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police, and head constable present at the time of filing the complaint were suspended following the outrage.
On 23 August, the Bombay High Court also pulled up the Thane police for delay in filing the FIR and subsequently recording statements of the families while hearing a suo motu PIL.
“We are appalled by the fact that the Badlapur police has not taken any steps to record the statement of the second victim girl, till date. It appears that only after the suo motu PIL was registered yesterday that the statement of the father of one of the victims, was recorded belatedly, post midnight,” the bench said, as quoted by The Indian Express.
Advocate General Birendra Saraf had assured the court that all required statements will be recorded promptly in the future, following which the bench asked for details of the probe conducted by the Badlapur police to be submitted to court before it handed over the case to the SIT in the next hearing.
Trustee, Principal Named in FIR Still 'Absconding'
On 26 August, advocate Priyesh Jadhav representing the survivors told an Ulhasnagar court that at least three accused named in the FIR - trustee Tushar Apte, trust's chief Jay Kotwal, and principal Archana Athavale were absconding.
A month since the FIR, the police has failed to arrest them.
While the school's administration was under scrutiny, the principal and the trustee had been blaming each other over the alleged delay in taking action.
Who is Apte and why is he specifically being targeted?
According to the website of the Adarsh Vidya Prasarak Sanstha that runs the Adarsh school where the incident took place, Apte has been listed as the 'Secretary' under the list of the board of trustees.
On Apte's Facebook profile, which has been inactive since 2021, he calls himself president of the Ambernath district public welfare committee of the BJP. In most party banners on his Facebook profile, he features with his brother Chetan Sharad Apte, then BJP vice president for Badlapur city.
Speaking to The Quint, Nandkishor Gopal Patkar, another trustee and also a BJP leader said: "Apte used to be with the BJP. But during the last nagar parishad elections, he had rebelled and contested independently after being denied a ticket."
'Was He Not Handcuffed?': Questions On Akshay Shinde's Encounter
Akshay Shinde's family, along with several Opposition leaders, raised questions on the sequence of events leading to his death.
Alleging that their son was murdered, Shinde's family told the media that they met him in prison on Monday itself and called the encounter a "conspiracy by the police."
"How can my son fire shots with a pistol? Did he know how to use a pistol?" his mother told the media on Monday.
"He could not have done what is being claimed. When we met him in prison today, he asked us to send him money for food," his uncle Amar Shinde told the media.
Speaking to ABP Majha, Ujjwal Nikam, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and advocate who was the state's prosecutor in the case said that several claims over the encounter are subject to a judicial probe.
"It is too premature to comment on the claims right now. But was Akshay Shinde not handcuffed? Was the pistol that he snatched not locked? All these answers can be found only in a judicial probe," Nikam said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare, in a video shared on social media said that while demanding death penalty for Akshay Shinde, the course of law should have been upheld.
"The Badlapur case followed the script of the Hyderabad rape case where four accused were encountered. If Akshay Shinde was of such a criminal mindset, why weren't enough precautions taken when he was being transferred? Is it even possible to snath a policeman's gun while he was handcuffed? Akshay Shinde's shot hit the policeman's leg but the police's shot hit Akshay Shinde fatally?" Andhare asked.
"There were doubts on the fairness of the probe since the first day. Why has accused trustee Tushar Apte not been arrested yet?" she added, further demanding a CBI enquiry in the matter and resignation of home minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The Opposition leaders have been claiming that the encounter was carried out to "shield someone."
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Fadnavis both said that a detailed probe will be conducted into the events of the evening, but defended the Thane police.
"The Opposition is seeing the sands slip from beneath their feet. On one hand, they were demanding death penalty for Akshay Shinde. But today they are questioning the policemen who were injured by him," CM Shinde told the media.
The SIT's Probe & What the Chargesheets Say
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by state's home ministry is being headed by Inspector General Aarti Singh. It filed two chargesheets after it took over the probe from the Badlapur police.
In one of its first moves on 21 August, a day after the protests flared, the SIT booked the school's management under POCSO for "failing to file a complaint" as mandated under Section 21 of the POCSO act.
On 27 August, the SIT told the special POCSO court that it will conduct an ID parade of accused Akshay Shinde.
As per the chargesheets filed by the SIT last week:
Akshay Shinde confessed to committing the crimes to the doctors while his medical exam was being conducted
Statements of both minor girls were recorded and the had also identified Shinde during an ID parade
Since school's CCTVs were dysfunctional, footage from municipal corporation's CCTVs was used as evidence to establish his presence on the school premises on the days of the crime.
Several stringent sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) were invoked, including Section 74 (assaulting or using criminal force against a woman), Section 75 (sexual harassment), and Section 76 (intent to disrobe or compel a woman to be naked), Section 65(2) (rape under 12 years of age), and with five stringent sections of POCSO act.
(With inputs from LiveLaw, ABP Majha and The Indian Express.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)