The death of Akshay Shinde — the man accused of raping two four-year-olds in Badlapur — in police firing this evening is snowballing into a controversy ahead of the assembly elections in Maharashtra. Shinde was killed in retaliatory firing after he snatched the gun of a constable and opened fire on the police while being transferred from the Taloja jail to the Thane police station, the police said. The Opposition had questioned how a handcuffed man could snatch a gun, and alleged that it could have been an “encounter”. 

“Earlier, the Opposition parties demanded that Akshay Shinde be hanged,” said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. “Now, they are taking his side and questioning the integrity of Maharashtra police. Such act of the opposition leaders is condemnable and unfortunate,” he added, explaining that the police shot him in self defence.

Asked about the Opposition’s allegation that the accused was killed to gain political sympathy, Mr Shinde said these parties are rattled by the success of his government’s Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme.

“The Opposition raises questions on every issue,” said Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio.  “They (the opposition) had wanted him to be hanged. It is wrong to say such things when the police tried to save lives,” he added, while seconding the chain of events described by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. 

The Opposition had lost no time in attacking the ruling coalition after the death of the Shinde, who allegedly raped two nursery school students in the washroom of the Badlapur school, triggering outrage in the state.  

Leader of Opposition in the assembly Vijay Wadettiwar questioned if it was an attempt to “destroy evidence”. 

“Were Akshay Shinde’s hands not tied by the police during the transit? How could he reach for the gun, and how come the police were so careless?” he said. There is no action against the “BJP-linked” school management but an arrested accused is shot dead in suspicious circumstances, he said. “We have no trust in Badlapur police,” he added, calling for a judicial probe. 

Veteran leader Sharad Pawar, who leads his faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, targeted the state home ministry. In a vernacular post on X, formerly Twitter, he said: “The laxity shown by the Home Department in transferring the main accused in this incident is questionable. It seems that the government has become weak”.

Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sushma Andhare equated the incident with the gunning down of four rape accused in Telangana in 2019. “There too the police claimed it was done in self-defence. However, due to the deaths, the truth never came out. The same will be the case with the Badlapur sexual assault. Was Akshay Shinde killed as he was hiding something more sinister? Why is the school management still on the run,” she said.

“It shows the state home minister’s inability to handle critical cases,” she said, demanding that Mr Fadnavis shed some light on these questions. 

Mumbai:

The man accused of raping of two nursery school girls at Badlapur, near Mumbai, died this evening after he shot at a police officer inside a police vehicle and was injured in retaliatory firing. Sources said Akshay Shinde, 23,  had snatched the gun of a constable and opened fire, injuring him.

Police sources said officers from Badlapur had gone to Taloja jail to take custody of Shinde. They wanted to question him in connection with a new case filed by his first wife. The woman, who left him five days after their wedding, has accused him of rape and assault. 

Around 6:30 pm, when the police team reached near the Mumbra bypass, Shinde snatched the gun of a constable and fired several rounds, injuring him. In retaliation, another officer shot Shinde, leaving him critically injured. He was taken to the hospital where he died. 

Akshay Shinde, 23, was appointed on a contractual basis to clean school washrooms on August 1. But within days, he allegedly raped the four-year-olds in the school’s washroom. He was arrested on August 17 — five days after the children reported the assault to their parents. 

Coming on the heels of the horrific rape-murder of a young doctor at a Kolkata hospital, the incident had led to massive protests in the town in Thane. Thousands had blocked railway lines for hours and had to be forcibly removed by the police.

The Bombay High Court, which had taken up the case on its own, had sharply criticised the police investigation, especially pointing to its deviation from rules in the questioning of the children. 

“The mandate of the law is not followed by Badlapur police,” the judges had said. 

“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,” they said.

The school also came in for criticism, with the court questioning their process of vetting the recruits and allowing male cleaners and attendants inside girls’ washrooms.

The government later formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by senior IPS officer Arti Singh to probe the sexual assault case. Sources had said the SIT has sufficient evidence against Shinde. It became stronger after his family members gave statements. His father and brother had apparently said that he was mentally fit but had a cruel streak.

The school is also under investigation by the SIT, which has alleged that it did not comply with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), which mandates that every authority, when they come to know about sexual offences on minors, are obliged to report it to the police.

Thane:

The railway police in Maharashtra’s Thane district have registered an attempt-to-murder case against a 25-year-old man after he allegedly opened fire at two persons at Badlapur station and injured one of them, an official said on Friday. The incident, which police said was the fallout of business rivalry, took place at platform number 1 at around 6 pm on Thursday when the suburban station on the Central Railway route was chock-a-block with commuters.

Senior Inspector Pandhari Kande of the Kalyan GRP (Government Railway Police) said an FIR has been registered against the arrested accused Vikas Nana Pagare for attempt to murder under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and under the Arms Act.

Police are also trying to find out if more people were involved in the shooting besides Pagare.

The incident was captured on cameras and a video of it went viral on social media within minutes.

After opening fire, Pagare ran towards railway tracks in his attempt to flee, but he was chased and pinned down by policemen on duty with the help of some commuters.

Police identified the injured person as Shankar Sansare, while the second man targeted by Pagare escaped unhurt, but his identity was not revealed.

Sansare was rushed to a local hospital, where he was treated for gunshot wounds, said the GRP.

The assailant and also the duo he targeted have criminal records and the firing was linked to professional rivalry over TV cable business between them in the area, said the police, citing preliminary probe.

Initially, there was a fight between Pagare and the duo outside the railway station. As Sansare ran inside the station, the gunman followed him and fired at him and the other person accompanying him from his revolver, they said.

The GRP have sent the revolver and pellets for forensic analysis.

Badlapur was under the spotlight last month after two kindergarten girls were allegedly sexually assaulted by a male attendant at a private school there. The incident triggered a massive protest in the town, with thousands of people blocking trains at Badlapur station on August 20.

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

Mumbai:

In the wake of public outrage over the sexual assault of two Class IV girls in Maharashtra’s Badlapur, the state government proposed the installation of panic buttons in schools and hostels to improve women’s safety. 

“Just like CCTVs in schools, panic buttons can also be installed. A panic button can also be installed in the hostels. It is an advanced technology,” Maharashtra Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar said.

“Under the leadership of the deputy director of the Mumbai region, the investigation team probed the Badlapur incident. People from various departments were involved in the investigation. The police will decide under which sections the cases will be filed. The people who have been found negligent have been identified as co-accused. They also have to face consequences,” he added.

On August 16, two four-year-old girls were allegedly sexually assaulted by a 23-year-old male cleaning staff member inside the girls’ toilet at their school in Badlapur. The accused, Akshay Shinde. has since been arrested after an FIR was filed against him. 

A report on the Badlapur sexual assault case by the Women and Child Welfare Department and the Education Ministry has been submitted to Mr Kesarkar for further action. The report is part of the ongoing investigation into the case, where the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has already registered an FIR against the school authorities for not complying with Section 19 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. This section mandates that any authority aware of sexual abuse against minors must report it to the police immediately. 

The SIT has also recorded statements from both victims and their parents. The accused, Akshay Shinde, an attendant at the school, was arrested on August 17 and has since been placed in judicial custody for 14 days by the Kalyan court. The SIT has requested a Test Identification Parade (TI Parade) to be conducted, where the victims will identify the accused. 

This identification process will be overseen by an Executive Magistrate. The investigation is also examining the digital footprints of the accused. Statements from Shinde’s two wives have been recorded, with a third expected to follow.

Mumbai:

The Bombay High Court has taken cognisance of the alleged sexual assault of two four-year-old girls at a school in Badlapur near Mumbai. The case has sparked massive protests across the city with demands of death penalty for the 23-year-old cleaner allegedly involved.

The cleaner, who was arrested on August 17, allegedly assaulted the girls in the school’s toilet.

Having taking suo moto (on its own) cognisance, Bombay High Court will take up the matter for hearing today. The case will be heard by a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan.

The government has ordered the formation of a special investigation team (SIT) headed by senior IPS officer Arti Singh to probe into the alleged sexual assault of the KG girl students.

The outrage has also been fuelled by the the fact that the parents of the girls were made to wait 11 hours at a local police station for a First Information Report. The three police personnel involved have been suspended by the government.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has also assured action against the school, adding that the case will be fast-tracked and the guilty won’t be spared.