'Prima facie there is foul play', Bombay HC asks tough questions on Badlapur encounter

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday came down heavily on the Thane Police for the September 23 ‘encounter’ of Akshay A. Shinde -- the prime accused in the shocking rape case of two nursery school girls in Maharashtra's Badlapur town.

The tough observations, by a division bench comprising Justice Revati Mohite-Dere and Justice Prithviraj K. Chavan, came during a hearing of a petition filed by Anna Shinde through his lawyer Amit Katarnavare.

Among other things, Shinde has termed his son Akshay’s killing as a fake encounter, demanding an SIT probe and related aspects of the Monday ‘encounter’, said Advocate Katranvare.

During the hearing, the court and the appellant’s lawyer asked some unnerving questions to the police and government lawyer, while posting the matter for the next hearing on October 3.

The court picked many holes in the police contentions of ‘retaliatory firing’ at Akshay Shinde in self-defence that led to his death near the Mumbra Bypass Road when he was being shifted from Taloja Jail (Raigad) to Badlapur (Thane).

“It's difficult to believe… A layman cannot fire from a pistol as it needs strength. A weak person cannot do it as it's not as easy as a revolver. Prima facie there is foul play,” said Justice Chavan.

The court asked the police why they were so negligent with an accused, if the pistol was already loaded, why it was unlocked, whether the accused (Shinde) was handcuffed, and also if the police were in uniforms or not.

Justice Chavan said that as per the police version, he (Akshay Shinde) fired three bullets, but only one hit, whether it was a direct aim at the policeman or it ricocheted, and where did the other two bullets land?

“The police are trained… They know exactly where to fire a bullet… Why did they shoot in (Akshay Shinde’s) head… They should have shot him in the arm or a leg as per the SOPs. There were four policemen at the back, two in the front and two beside the deceased… How could they not overpower a small, weak man sitting in the back of the police van while pulling the trigger the first time,” the court asked.

“It's hard to believe the police narrative that he managed to snatch the pistol from a police officer and open fire… This is not an encounter… It cannot be termed as an encounter,” observed Justice Chavan on the police arguments.

The court also pulled up the police team for negligence for not handcuffing a person accused of a serious crime, to which the police said that he was actually in handcuffs, but was uncuffed as he wanted to drink water.

The division bench asked the police to conduct a fair and impartial probe into the matter, virtually warning that if it found that the investigation was not being done properly, it would be constrained to pass the appropriate orders.

At the next hearing, the police are expected to give their decision on Anna Shinde’s complaint seeking an FIR against the concerned police officers pertaining to his son’s 'encounter killing'.

The judges also directed the police to hand over the relevant case papers to the Crime Investigation Department (CID) which has initiated its probe into Akshay Shinde’s case from the Mumbra Police Station (Thane) from Tuesday.

Justice Mohite-Dere said that preservation of evidence is vital in the case and any delay by the police (to transfer the case papers to CID) would lead to speculation and doubts.

The judges directed the police to provide the entire video footage of the journey from Taloja Jail till the injured Akshay Shinde was rushed to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwe (Thane), the CDR records of the concerned police officials, the autopsy details, etc., to the court.

The ‘encounter killing’ of Akshay Shinde, 24, on Monday evening -- ahead of the state Assembly elections -- has sparked a massive outrage and led to a political slanging match between the ruling MahaYuti government and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi.

Working as a contractual sweeper since August 1, Akshay Shinde was accused of allegedly raping two nursery class girls aged 3 and 5 in the toilet of the Adarsh Vidya Prasarak Sanstha (AVPS) school in Badlapur on August 12-13, before he was arrested on August 17.

His gory end came near the Mumbra Bypass Road on Monday around 6 p.m. when he was being transferred from Taloja Jail to Thane for a probe into a harassment case filed by his wife.

Ostensibly trying to escape, Akshay Shinde allegedly grabbed a policeman ASI Nilesh More’s pistol and fired at the cops before they shot and grievously injured him. Shinde later succumbed to injuries at a hospital, as per the police.