Opposition after death of accused in Badlapur case in police custody

Opposition parties in Maharashtra have criticised the state government after a man accused of sexually abusing two minor girls at a school in Badlapur appeared in a Exchange of fire with the police.

Congress claimed that the defendant’s death was an attempt to protect other people in the case. The party's national chairman, Nana Patole, said the school's trustees had not yet been arrested.

“Is there any attempt to rescue the absconding accused or close the case by meeting the main accused?” Patole asked on social media.Has the police the accused as part of the top brass's efforts to suppress the whole affair? This case should be investigated by a sitting judge of the Bombay High Court to bring out the truth.”

The police claim that the accused Akshay Shinde snatched a police weapon and fired at security forces, injuring a police officer. The accused was shot in retaliation and taken to hospital, where he died, according to police.

The incident occurred when the accused was brought to Thane in connection with a separate case of sexual assault filed by his second wife in 2022, The Indian Express An unidentified senior police official was quoted as saying.

Akshay Shinde allegedly sexually abused the underage girls on August 12 at their school, where he worked as a janitor. Four days later, one of the children reported the incident to his parents, who contacted the police.

The case sparked protests in Badlapur. The opposition accused the police of waiting too long to file an initial report. Akshay Shinde was arrested on August 17 and charged under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

However, after his death in police custody, the opposition accused the state government of bypassing due process.

Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar (Sharadchandra Pawar) said the Mahayuti government had failed to use the law as a deterrent against such crimes.

The Mahayuti coalition consists of the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Nationalist Congress Party group led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

“To bring justice to the two little girls in the Badlapur case, the accused should have been executed in accordance with the relevant legal framework,” Sharad Pawar said on social media. “But the Home Ministry’s negligence in transferring the accused is suspicious. The truth about this incident should come out after a thorough investigation.”

Supriya Sule, a leader of the Sharad Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, also questioned the circumstances of the accused's death.

“First delay in submitting the first information report, and now the Main defendant is killed in custody!” Sule said in a social media post. “This is an absolute breakdown of the legal and judicial system. This is inexcusable, it deprives the people of Maharashtra of justice.”

Sushma Andhare, spokesperson of the Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray, questioned how an accused who was handcuffed could snatch a revolver. The Hindu reported.

“One must also think of the Hyderabad rape case and the subsequent encounter,” said Andhare. “The same justification of self-protection was used here too.”

Andhare said that although the accused was “not a Mahatma” and “certainly should have been hanged”, the punishment was in accordance with the law.

“The legal process was followed for the enemy of the country [Ajmal] Kasab too,” she said. “Then the same procedure should have been followed for Akshay Shinde as well. It is likely that certain important information and evidence has now been buried with Akshay Shinde.”

Kasab was one of the terrorists involved in the 2008 Mumbai attack.

Prime Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis rejected the criticism on the grounds that preliminary reports indicated that the police had shot the accused only in retaliation and not in reaction.

“This was the same opposition that had demanded that such a cruel accused like him should be hanged,” said Eknath Shinde. “Someone has done such a cruel thing to the little girls. How can the opposition be on the side of such an accused?”

The Prime Minister reiterated that the accused opened fire on the police officers and seriously injured a deputy police inspector.