Encounter officer, Sanjay Ramchandra Shinde, 57, describes the scuffle in the police van leading up to child sexual assault accused Akshay Shinde being shot
Seeing Shinde’s furious demeanour and aggressive body language, I was convinced that he would kill us
I have been serving in the Maharashtra Police Force since 1992. Since September 3, this year, I have been working as a senior police inspector with the Central Crime Branch, Thane City.
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I am part of the special team established by the Thane City police commissioner to investigate the case filed by the wife of Akshay Shinde at Badlapur East police station, and I am the investigating officer in this case. The accused, Akshay Shinde, who was arrested in connection with the case of sexual assault of two minors registered at Badlapur East police station, was held at Taloja Central Jail. A warrant for his arrest was issued by the District and Additional Night Court, Kalyan, on September 20.
On Monday, September 23, I, along with Investigation Officer API Nilesh More from the Anti-Narcotics Squad, Thane City, Constable Abhijit More, and Constable Harish Tawde departed for Taloja jail at 2 pm, after making an entry into the Thane Central Crime Branch diary. We travelled in a government vehicle. API Nilesh More and I carried our service pistols. At the time, I had loaded my pistol with five bullets.
After completing legal formalities around 5.30 pm on Monday, we took custody of Akshay Shinde from Taloja jail and began our journey back to the Crime Branch, Thane City, in the police van. I was seated in the front next to the driver, while API Nilesh More and two constables were seated in the back with the accused.
As the vehicle neared Shil Diaghar police station, API Nilesh More called me on the mobile phone and informed me that Akshay Shinde was asking ‘Where are you taking me again? What have I done now?’ He said Shinde was angry and using abusive language.
I told the driver to stop the vehicle and moved to the back to sit with the accused, intending to calm him down. At that time, API More and Constable Abhijit More were sitting in front of us, with accused Shinde seated in between.
When we reached the Mumbra Bypass Road near the foothills of Mumbra Devi around 6.15 pm, the accused Shinde suddenly tried to snatch API More’s pistol from his waist. Despite attempts to stop him, Shinde continued to pull the pistol and shout, ‘Let me go!’ The pistol got loaded in the scuffle, and one bullet hit API More in the left thigh, causing him to fall. At that moment, the accused took full control of API More’s pistol and, in a fit of rage, screamed at us, ‘Now I won’t let anyone live!’ He pointed the gun at me and Constable Harish Tawde fired two shots with the intent to kill. Fortunately, the bullets missed us.
Shinde was then restrained, and I instructed the driver to take the vehicle to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa, where both Shinde and API More were admitted for treatment. After surgery, API More and I were shifted to Jupiter Hospital in Thane for further treatment. I later learned that Shinde had died before being admitted to the hospital. Illustrations/Uday Mohite
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