25 September,2024 01:15 PM IST | Mumbai | Faizan Khan
Accused Akshay Shinde/ File Photo/ Navneet Barhate
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday told the police that they must "clarify what exactly happened" during the Badlapur encounter. "It's hard to believe. It takes strength to pull the slider. We are not creating doubt, but the police must clarify what exactly happened," the court said after the public prosecutor, while giving a timeline of the events surrounding the Badlapur encounter, said that the deceased had taken out the service gun of an assistant police inspector.
Akshay Shinde, accused of sexually assaulting two toddlers in a Badlapur school, was shot dead by the police on Monday evening. While the police maintained that he was shot in self-defence, his family suspected foul play and filed a petition in the HC seeking a probe into his death.
While hearing the case, the HC on Wednesday questioned that despite four police officers being present, why could they not overpower "an untrained accused in the use of a firearm". It also questioned why Akshay Shinde was shot in the head and not in the leg. "This is difficult to accept and cannot be classified as an encounter," the court said.
"You should have overpowered him. Instead, you shot him in the head," the court told cops. It further directed them to file a cross FIR based on a complaint filed by Akshay Shinde's father.
ALSO READ
Custodial death of Badlapur case accused: Probe panel invites statements from affected persons
28-year-old dies after falling off an overcrowded local in Karjat near Mumbai
How Mumbai Police encounters changed the city's crime landscape
'State action taken against cops for lapses in Badlapur sexual assault probe'
Badlapur sexual assault: What action taken against errant cops for lapses in probe, asks HC
The court has also requested handwashing samples from all officers involved and enquired whether they were taken. Furthermore, the court demanded information on whether Akshay Shinde was shot from a distance or at point-blank range. It said that the post-mortem report indicates that he was shot from point-blank range.
The court noted that it seeks an unbiased investigation, emphasising that, while it does not dispute the police's involvement, it wants to know the truth.
The HC, during the hearing on the Badlapur encounter, ordered the preservation of all CCTV footage from the prison from the time Akshay Shinde was taken to court and subsequently to the hospital.
The next hearing in the case will be on Thursday, October 3.
