Badlapur shootout | Cops won’t clap if attacked: Fadnavis defends encounter
While police assert that they had to shoot dead Akshay Shinde after he snatched a cop’s gun and opened fired at them, his parents and the Opposition have called it a ‘fake encounter’
Amid allegations that Akshay Shinde, the accused in the Badlapur sexual assault case, was killed by police in a ‘fake encounter’, Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has defended the police by stating that they were forced to retaliate after Shinde seized a policeman’s weapon and opened fire at them.
Shinde, who was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing two four-year-old girls at a school toilet in Badlapur in Maharashtra, was killed in an alleged shootout with police on Monday evening.
Killed while in transit
He was being taken from the Taloja Central Jail to the Thane Crime Branch office when he is said to have opened fire on the police with one of their own revolvers near the Mumbra bypass.
In retaliation, Shinde was shot in the head and killed.
A day after the killing, posters featuring Fadnavis wielding a revolver and gun with the phrase 'Badla Pura' (revenge completed) appeared across Mumbai.
Fadnavis backs police
Speaking to the media on Thursday (September 26) Fadnavis said while the government believes in the rule of law, it is also a fact that police cannot keep mum if they are attacked.
“We do not believe in encounters, and I personally believe the rule of law must be followed. Accordingly, the criminal must be punished. This must be done quickly. But our police will not clap if attacked.”
He said the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) would conduct a fair probe into the incident.
The Bombay High Court has already pulled up the Maharashtra Police over the custodial death and said there appeared to be foul play. It also called for an impartial probe into the incident.
Judiciary raises doubts
The court in a hearing on Wednesday (September 25) said the killing could have been avoided and that the four policemen accompanying him should have tried to overpower him.
“Why was the accused shot in the head directly and not in the legs or arms first…The moment he pulled the first trigger, the others could have easily overpowered him. He wasn't a huge, built up or strong man. This is very difficult to accept. This cannot be termed as an encounter,” Justice Prithviraj Chavan said.
Also Read: Badlapur encounter: Why was accused shot in head? Bombay HC asks cops
"It is difficult to believe that Shinde could have seized a pistol from a police officer and fired it," said Justice Chavan, recalling his experience with firearms.
Dead man’s family moves court
In his petition, Shinde’s father Anna Shinde challenged the police assertion that his son had fired upon an officer while being transported for questioning, leading to his death in retaliatory fire.
The petition alleged that he was killed in a "fake encounter" and called for an investigation into the death.
Anna Shinde moved the Bombay High Court seeking probe by a Special Investigation Team into his son's killing.
Pertinent questions
The family’s lawyer, Amit Katarnavre, alleged that Shinde was killed to prevent a trial that would involve cross-examination and suggested that authorities were avoiding catching those who were truly responsible for the crime in the school.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said: “This murder or encounter that has taken place was done to save the main accused.”
He wondered how a school janitor snatched a gun from a policeman and fired a locked weapon. He said Fadnavis and chief minister Eknath Shinde wanted to shield the school management.
School’s BJP connection
"The (Badlapur) school is linked to the BJP and the story (Akshay's killing) was done to save them," Raut alleged.
Asked Nationalist Congress Party MLA Jitendra Awhad: "How can a handcuffed accused snatch the revolver of a policeman and fire at him, when five more policemen are around?"
If the death wasn’t enough, the police in Thane registered a case of attempt to murder against Shinde for allegedly opening fire at the police.
Sena denounces killing
Another Shiv Sena leader, Sushma Andhare, demanded a High Court-monitored probe into Shinde's killing, which she dubbed an example of "state-sponsored terrorism".
"Akshay Shinde was not a saint and deserved to be punished but the police action was wrong," Andhare said.
The CID has initiated a probe into Akshay’s death. Forensic experts have examined the incident spot and collected evidence.
BJP celebrates killing
Meanwhile, workers of the ruling Shiv Sena celebrated the death in Badlapur, other parts of Thane and in Pune by distributing sweets and bursting firecrackers.
Mumbai BJP unit chief Ashish Shelar also backed the police version of the killing. He said what happened to Shinde was his destiny. "This is the justice of God.”
Amar Shinde, Akshay's uncle, said on Thursday that the family was looking for a site to bury the young man. He also sought police protection during the last rites, citing threats to the lives of Akshay's parents and their lawyer.
