Badlapur sexual assault accused succumbs to gunshot wounds by Thane police, OPP says: ‘Murdered in cold blood’

Hours after the Thane CID gunned down sexual assault accused Akshay Shinde in Badlapur on Monday evening, political debates surrounding the incident heated up. The opposition sharply criticized the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government.

The police had mentioned the reason for the encounter that Akshay Shinde – the main accused who allegedly attacked two minor girls in Badlapur – snatched the gun from a policeman and opened fire. He also injured a policeman after the accused was shot in the crossfire and later succumbed to his injuries.

However, the opposition has started questioning the government's inaction, terming it “incompetence” of the Mahayuti government and demanding a judicial inquiry into the incident.

This is how the opposition leaders react:

Reacting to the Badlapur shooting, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Sharad Pawar said it seems that the government has become weak in its threat of the law so that no one would think of committing such a reprehensible act in future.

He addressed X and wrote, “The injustice done to the two children in Badlapur should have been dealt with in accordance with the law. But the negligence shown by the Home Ministry in handing over the main accused in this incident is questionable. It seems that the government has become too weak in its threat of the law so that no one will think of such a reprehensible act in future. It is expected that the situation will emerge from the thorough investigation of this incident.”

Priyanka Chaturvedi, a member of the Shiv Sena (UBT) party, even claimed that the co-accused and the entire dispute were a “story fabricated by the state government”.

Chaturvedi reached out to X and wrote, “The accused is dead and the other co-accused under POCSO, who were school board members and BJP office bearers, are absconding. Such a prime example of the tactics of an incompetent government to bypass them at any cost.”

“It will soon become clear that no one sexually harassed the six-year-olds. A story that was written, promoted and implemented by the state government,” Chaturvedi added.

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Congress MP Prithviraj Chavan said the accused was murdered in cold blood. He said, as quoted by ANI“He was murdered in cold blood. No one will believe that it was an encounter. It is a black day for the Maharashtra Police, which once had a sterling reputation. I have demanded an inquiry by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who was in Mumbai at the same time. I do not think that the Maharashtra Police will be able to deliver justice under the present conditions. The real perpetrators of this crime will never be found. The people of Maharashtra want to know the truth.”

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole asked why the government was trying to protect the main culprits.

He commented, “We have come to know that the accused in the Badlapur sexual assault case has died… Our demand is that no accused should be spared so that such an incident does not happen again… Why is the government trying to protect the main culprits? The court should investigate this. This is the demand of the Congress party…”

NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule described the Mahayuti government’s actions as shocking.

She wrote to X: “The Mahayuti government's handling of the Badlapur sexual assault case against two minor girls is shocking! First delay in filing the complaint and now the main accused is killed in custody! This is a complete breakdown of the legal and judicial system. This is inexcusable, it deprives the people of Maharashtra of justice.”

Maharashtra MP and Congress member Vijay Wadettiwar said the police did not take the Badlapur incident seriously. He also demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident.

He said, quoted by ANI“The police did not take the Badlapur incident seriously. Protests were taking place across the state. The Home Ministry and the government tried everything to protect the accused… In the incident that took place today, the police fired in self-defence, I think something is wrong. It could have been an attempt to protect the people associated with BJP and RSS by killing the main accused… We demand a judicial inquiry into this matter…”

While Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey said, “…The Home Minister and the police should form an SIT to investigate the matter as there are many doubts. The government and the police should clarify and inform the public what happened…”