Badlapur sexual assault accused fires at cops, killed

Mumbai : The man accused of sexually assaulting two girls at a school in Badlapur town of Maharashtra died in retaliatory firing by police after he snatched a cop’s gun and opened fire, an official said on Monday. Akshay Shinde, who worked as a sweeper in the school, snatched the revolver of one of the policemen taking him from Taloja jail to Badlapur on Monday, the official said.

He was rushed to a hospital in Kalwa where he succumbed to his injuries, the official said. An assistant police inspector, injured in the firing by Shinde, is undergoing treatment at the hospital, he added. When the vehicle reached near Mumbra bypass, Shinde snatched the revolver of one of the officers in the vehicle and fired two to three rounds, injuring the officer. In response, another officer opened fire on Shinde, injuring him.

Massive protests erupted on streets and at local railway station last month after two minor girls were allegedly sexually assaulted by Shinde at the toilet of the school in Thane district.

The school had appointed 23-year-old Shinde on a contractual basis to clean their toilets on August 1. The two minors were allegedly abused in the school toilet on August 12. The accused was arrested on August 17. On September 3, the Bombay High Court told the police to build a “watertight” case and do not file a charge sheet hurriedly under public pressure.

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.

Opposition leaders expressed shock over the “encounter” and called for a detailed probe into the incident. Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan claimed the “encounter” was done to save “some other” people. Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Vijay Wadettiwar said, “This is shocking. There should be a judicial probe into this incident.” Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole wondered if this “encounter” was done to save trustees of the school who have not been arrested so far. Akshay’s uncle told a Marathi TV channel that he met Akshay at Taloja jail on Monday and was told that police were beating him up on a regular basis.