Kin claim Badlapur sexual assault case accused killed in ‘encounter’, seek probe

The family members of Badlapur sexual assault case accused Akshay Shinde, who has been shot dead by police, have termed the incident as an “encounter” and sought a probe into his killing.

Shinde was accused of sexually assaulting two minor girls at a school in Badlapur town of Maharashtra’s Thane district.

A contractual sweeper at the school in Badlapur, 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 said.

After he shot and injured an API, another officer from the police escort team fired at him, and he was declared dead by doctors at the Kalwa civil hospital, the official said.

His father Anna Shinde, however, said an inquiry should be conducted into his son’s killing.

Speaking to reporters outside the hospital on Monday, Akshay Shinde’s mother and uncle alleged it was a conspiracy by police and management of the Badlapur school.

They claimed Akshay Shinde had told his kin that he was being beaten up police in custody and he also sent a chit seeking money.

His mother and uncle questioned the police version and asserted he could not have snatched the weapon of a policeman.

He was not depressed, they added.

“The police have killed our child. The school management must also be probed. The police got him to write something but we don’t know what it is,” the kin further alleged.

“My son was afraid of bursting crackers and crossing the road. How can he shoot at policemen?” Akshay Shinde’s mother asked.