Badlapur POCSO Case Accused Encountered By Police

The Badlapur sexual assault accused who allegedly harassed two four-year-olds in the School restroom was shot dead by Thane Police while taken for questioning on September 23.

Akshay Shinde Encounter:

The Thane crime branch took the accused Akshay Shinde into custody at approximately 5:30 pm on September 23 from Taloja jail, where he had been imprisoned. A group of about 10 policemen was accompanying him from the jail in a police vehicle, with four armed officers positioned next to him, according to a senior police officer. 

As the vehicle approached the Mumbra Bypass, Akshay Shinde allegedly seized the pistol of assistant police inspector Nilesh More and discharged three rounds at him, one of which struck him in the thigh. 

In response, senior inspector Sanjay Shinde fired a single round at Akshay Shinde, hitting him in the head. Shinde was then transported to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital, Kalwa, where he was pronounced dead, as stated by the senior police officer. 

His body was taken to JJ Hospital in Mumbai for post-mortem on the evening of September 23. This news sparked a significant amount of public interest, with many expressing the view that justice had been served.

The Badlapur Sexual Assault:

According to the children's complaint, Akshay Shinde allegedly took the nursery school children to the restroom and sexually harassed them in the school. The Badlapur sexual assault created a lot of public outrage in India as this happened in a school where children should feel safe and learn peacefully.  

The situation escalated after the school management’s negligence and the Badlapur police’s delay in registering an FIR. This made people start a major protest on the streets and the railway tracks in Badlapur on August 20.

Following the public outrage, the Maharastra government formed a special investigation team to look into the case under IPS officer Arti Singh. 

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) found the school authorities responsible for negligence. The principal, Archana Athavale, and the chairman and secretary of the trust that runs the school, Uday Kotwal and Tushar Apte, were named as co-accused in the FIR. They were booked for allegedly failing to report the incident to the police. The charge sheet also mentioned that the police did not take prompt action.