Two days after the death of Akshay Shinde, an accused in a sex assault case, the Bombay High Court today expressed grave concern over the various discrepancies that have been coming out over the death of the 24-year-old youth. The High Court was acting on the petition by Shinde’s father, who claimed his son was killed in a fake encounter and demanded an SIT probe into the death.
Accused of raping two minor girls at a Badlapur school where he was working as a sweeper, Shinde was being taken from Taloja Jail when he allegedly snatched a gun from a police officer and started firing. In the incident, police said, an assistant inspector was injured, and in retaliation, Shinde was shot at.
Counsel appearing for Anna Shinde, the father of the young accused, told the court that the youth had met his parents a day before the incident and was not in such a mental frame of mind to commit the acts as the police claimed. “We mustn’t forget the rule of law,” he said, adding that the present situation was a bad precedent being set as far as police action was concerned.
When the counsel for the state was asked to explain what Shinde had died of, he readily agreed it was a bullet wound of the left thigh. The prosecution attempted, with some embarrassment, to describe how Shinde might have fired the weapon himself; the court was not impressed. The judges suggested that a person would normally require training for the use of a firearm, thereby casting doubt on the possibility of Shinde’s acts.
The court also expressed surprise that police couldn’t overpower Shinde before he opened more than a round of fire. “This can’t be termed as an encounter,” the bench said while making it clear that a proper investigation was needed.
The court also wanted to know whether there were CCTV cameras along the route taken at the time of the incident, and the state government replied that it would review whatever footage was available. On its part, the government underlined that it should be an impartial inquiry; otherwise, people will lose confidence.
Meanwhile, custodial death has triggered a deluge of political responses in the State. Hoardings congratulating Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have come up at several places in Mumbai with the caption “Badla Pura,” or revenge, complete with pictures of Mr. Fadnavis holding a gun. No organization has signed these hoardings.
The BJP also replied with a series of posters stating that while during the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government, the police indulged in extortion, they now protect citizens. Shiv Sena-led by Eknath Shinde, has issued advertisements in newspapers carrying a picture of the Chief Minister as “Dharamvir” and alleged that opponents politicize sensitive issues like rape.
The opposition leaders have questioned the police version of Shinde’s death. “How credible is this that a school chaprasi snatches a gun from a policeman?” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut asked. He insinuated more – that the incident was stage-managed to save influential persons close to the BJP.
NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule: How can a handcuffed person push and snatch weapons from police personnel running the risk in a moving vehicle? She sought police protection in Maharashtra demanding that the CCTV footage be made public.
