Thane:

The Thanecrimebranch has arrested twoindividuals in connection with the Badlapursexualassaultcase. The president and secretary of the school, Uday Kotwal and Tushar Apte respectively, where two minor girls were sexually assaulted by a sweeper, were apprehended in Karjat, according to officials.

The arrests came a day after the Bombay High Court rejected Kotwal and Apte’s anticipatory bail pleas.

The main accusedin the case, Akshay Shinde, was killed in a police encounter earlier in September.

According to the Thane Police, Akshay Shinde was being transferred from Taloja Jail to Badlapurin relation to a new case filed by his wife. During the transfer, he allegedly snatched a weapon from a police officer and opened fire. Shinde was injured near the Mumbra bypass and later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) criticised the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government over the encounter.

“The Mahayuti government’s handling of the Badlapursexualassaultcaseinvolving two minor girls is appalling! First, there was a delay in filing the FIR, and now the prime accused has been killed in custody! This represents a complete collapse of law enforcement and the justice system. It is inexcusable and denies the people of Maharashtra the justice they deserve,” NCP MP Supriya Sule said.

In September, the family of the deceased Akshay Shinde, accusedin the Badlapur rape case and killed in the police encounter, approached the Bombay High Court. The family sought permission to locate a burial site for Shinde, as they faced difficulties in finding land for his grave.

Initially, the family tried to secure a burial site inBadlapur and then in Ambarnath, but were unsuccessful, according to sources. Due to these challenges, they filed a petition in the Bombay High Court through their lawyer, Amit Katarnavare.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

Two days after the accused in the Badlapur sex assault case was shot dead after he snatched a cop’s gun, hoardings congratulating Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have come up in various locations in Mumbai. The hoardings use a wordplay — Badla Pura (revenge complete) — and show Mr Fadnavis holding a gun. These hoardings do not carry any organisation’s name.

The ruling parties have amped up their political messaging after the accused was shot dead. The BJP has put up posters, claiming that police would only extort money during the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress regime in Maharashtra, but now cops protect the people. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has issued newspaper ads, describing the Chief Minister as “Dharamvir” and accusing rivals of politicising a sensitive issue like rape. The newspaper ad also has a cop’s cap. 

The Badlapur sex assault case and the accused’s death come ahead of crucial state polls in Maharashtra and has emerged as a key talking point in the run-up to the election. The ruling coalition of BJP, Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP, which suffered a setback in the Lok Sabha election in June, are looking to turn the tables in the state polls. The Badlapur case had put the ruling bloc on the backfoot as the Opposition questioned the state’s law and order situation. Following the accused’s death, the ruling bloc will be looking to seize the narrative. The ruling parties have slammed the Opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi after some of its leaders raised questions about the accused’s death in custody and alleged that it was carried out to shield the real accused in the sex assault case.

Akshay Shinde (24) was accused of sexually assaulting two minor girls at a school in Badlapur where he worked as a sweeper. Police have said he was being taken from Taloja Jail to Badlapur on Monday when he snatched a policeman’s pistol and opened fire. An assistant inspector was injured and Shinde was killed in retaliatory firing, police have said.

Shinde’s father Anna Shinde has approached the Bombay High Court, alleging that his son was killed in a “fake encounter”. The family has alleged that Shinde was killed as part of a conspiracy by police and management of the school.

“We want justice. The family would have accepted the verdict delivered by the court after a trial, but we are poor people; we don’t have a voice,” Anna Shinde told news agency PTI.

The Opposition, too, has raised questions about the police’s version.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the police’s version was suspicious, but there was no need to show sympathy for Shinde.

“….This murder or encounter was done to save the main accused. How convincing is it that a school janitor snatches a gun from a policeman and fires a locked weapon? This is the basic question,” he said. The Rajya Sabha MP alleged, “The school is linked to BJP and yesterday’s story (Akshay’s killing) was done to save them.”

NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule wondered how the accused, who was handcuffed, could snatch a pistol from a policeman in a moving vehicle. “A policeman suffered a bullet injury. Even the police are not safe in Maharashtra. If there is CCTV footage of the incident, it should be made public,” she said, according to a PTI report.

Chief Minister Shinde and Home Minister Fadnavis have stressed that police had fired in self-defence.

The ruling Sena has slammed the Opposition, accusing them of questioning the bravery of police officers. Sena spokesperson and MP Naresh Mhaske said, “It is unfortunate to question the bravery of our police when they acted in self-defence.”

Thane:

Akshay Shinde, accused in the Badlapur sexual assault case who died in an alleged shootout, had said he would not spare anyone after grabbing a pistol inside a police van, an official claimed on Tuesday.

He retaliated in self-defence as Akshay Shinde’s demeanor suggested he would kill everyone, said inspector Sanjay Shinde, who shot the accused dead.

Mumbra police here registered a First Information Report against Akshay Shinde for ‘attempt to murder’ for opening fire on a police officer.

The FIR is based on the complaint of inspector Sanjay Shinde, investigating officer of the SIT formed to probe the sexual assault of two kindergarten girls at a school in Badlapur, the case in which Akshay Shinde (24) was the accused.

In his complaint, inspector Shinde said he was also conducting probe into another offence registered by Badlapur police on a complaint by Askhay’s first wife, accusing him of sexual harassment and unnatural sex.

On Monday evening, a police team took Akshay Shinde out of Taloja jail for probe of the case filed his wife, the complaint said.

Inspector Shinde sat beside the driver in the driver’s cabin, while two constables and Assistant Police Inspector Nilesh More sat in the back of the van with Akshay Shinde.

When they reached near Shil-Daighar police station, API More called inspector Shinde and told him that Akshay  was asking why they were taking him away and what new crime he had committed. Akshay then started abusing the policemen, so inspector Shinde stopped the van, and went into the back section and sat there with others, the complaint said.

Akshay was flanked by API More and constable Abhijit More. Inspector Sanjay Shinde and constable Harish Tawde were seated opposite.

At 6.15 pm, when the van reached the base of Mumbra Devi temple on Mumbra bypass, Akshay suddenly tried to pull out API More’s pistol, the complaint said.

In the ensuing fight, the pistol got unlocked and one round got fired; the bullet hit API More who collapsed, the complaint said.

Akshay then seized the pistol, and pointing it at inspector Shinde and the constable, said now I will not leave anyone alive’, the complaint claimed.

He fired two rounds but they dodged successfully, inspector Shinde claimed.

Akshay’s body language suggested he would certainly try and kill everyone in the van, inspector Shinde further said, adding that hence, he fired one round in self-defence which hit Akshay.

The accused fell, and the constables pinned him down while the van drove to Kalwa civil hospital where doctors declared Akshay dead, the complaint said.

Akshay’s family has challenged the police’s version, claiming that he died in a staged encounter. His father has moved the Bombay High Court seeking a probe by an SIT.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The Thane police have registered a case of attempt to murder against Badlapur sexual assault crime accused Akshay Shinde, after he allegedly opened fire at cops, and also filed a case of his accidental death, officials said on Tuesday.

Akshay Shinde was being taken to Badlapur in Maharashtra’s Thane district from Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai on Monday evening in connection with an FIR registered against him on the complaint of his former wife when the firing incident took place, which resulted in his death, police earlier said.

Akshay Shinde, 24, was accused of sexually assaulting two minor girls at a school in Badlapur.

A contractual sweeper at the school in Badlapur, Akshay Shinde was arrested on August 17, five days after he allegedly sexually abused the two girls in the school toilet.

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, an official earlier said.

After he shot and injured API Nilesh More, 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.

Following the incident, a case of attempt to murder against Akshay Shinde as well as a case of his accidental death have been registered at the Mumbra police station, a Thane police official told reporters.

He said Akshay Shinde tried a fatally attack police personnel by snatching a pistol.

As Akshay Shinde died in police action, another case of accidental death has also been registered, the official said.

Both the cases are being investigated by the Thane police, he added.

Akshay Shinde, who was lodged at the Taloja jail in connection with the case of sexual assault with two minor girls, was being taken to Badlapur for an investigation into another sexual assault case filed on the complaint of his former wife, the official said.

A special team was formed by the Thane Police to investigate the case.

Officials of the special team had sought a transfer warrant from the court. Based on it, he was being brought to Badlapur for transfer in the new case, he added.

After Akshay Shinde was shot dead, some locals in Badlapur distributed sweets and burst firecrackers.

They also displayed banners with messages like “rapists will not be spared”.

Meanwhile, a forensic experts team examined the incident spot on Tuesday and were collecting evidence for investigation, officials said.

The team collected the used pellets and also blood samples from the spot, they said.

Maharashtra’s Crime Investigation Department (CID) will conduct a probe into the death of Akshay Shinde, officials said earlier in the day.

Akshay Shinde’s body was taken from the Kalwa civic hospital in Thane to the state-run J J Hospital in Mumbai for post-mortem.

The post-mortem will be conducted in-camera in the presence of expert doctors, an official said.

The body was brought to the J J Hospital by Mumbra police at 11.10 am and inquest was done by the Judicial Magistrate FC, Thane, doctors from the hospital said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The Special Investigating Team (SIT) probing the sexual assault of two four-year-old girls inside their school in Maharashtra’s Badlapur has declared two trustees of the school missing on Friday, police sources told NDTV.

The crime branch and cyber police team have been searching for both the trustees after the SIT registered a case of negligence against them and summoned them to record their statements.

A police team visited the house of the trustees, but did not find them there.

On August 23, the SIT registered an FIR against the school authorities, for not complying with the provisions of Section 19 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), which mandates that every authority, when they come to know about any such kind of sexual assault against minors, are obligated to report this to police authorities.

Earlier, the Bombay High Court, which took suo motu cognizance of the alleged sexual assault of two girls, underscored that “male chauvinism” persists in our society and that nothing will change until children are taught about equality.

“You need to change the mindset of the boys when they are young. Teach them to respect the other gender, respect women,” said a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithiviraj Chavan on August 27.

“We always speak about girls. Why don’t we tell boys what is right and wrong? We need to change the mindset of boys when they are young. Teach them to respect women,” the court added.

The kindergarten students were allegedly sexually abused by a school attendant, who has been arrested. The incident triggered huge protests.

The wife of the accused claims her husband was a sexual pervert, sources have told NDTV, adding that this was the reason his first wife left him. 

The Bombay High Court also sought to know if the school ran a background check on the accused before hiring him and why the students were sent will a male attendant.

The court also slammed the lapses by the police in the case. “The mandate of the law is not followed by Badlapur police. They attempted to record the victim girl’s statements at the police station. There is complete non-compliance with the mandate. Asking the victim and her parents to come to the police station for a statement recording is completely insensitive and against the law,” it said.

Following the incident, the Maharashtra government issued a directive to all the schools in the state to install CCTV cameras on their premises within a month.