A division bench of the Bombay High Court has raised critical questions relating to the death of Badlapur sexual assault accused, who was killed while being ferried in a police van from Taloja jail to Badlapur police station. Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan said, "it is very hard to believe that a man of slight build, such as the accused, could not be overpowered by four policemen sitting inside the van, when he turned violent. " Raising question about the police version about how Akshay Shinde, the accused, was killed, the bench said, "we want to know the truth. We are not remotely suspecting activities done by police. But come clean." Justice Chavan said, "Have you ever used a pistol? I have fired 100 times. It requires strength...A layman cannot fire a pistol, unless he is trained. Any Tom, Dick and Harry can fire from a revolver, but to fire from a pistol requires strength unless it is made in Austria. A weak man cannot move the slide back....This can't be termed an encounter. The definition of encounter is different."
The division bench was hearing a petition filed by the deceased's father seeking a SIT probe into the circumstances in which Shinde was killed. The bench said, "it appears he was shot at point-blank range...We need an impartial probe into the incident, even if there are cops involved." Since the matter is being probed by CID, the High Court directed the police to hand over all documents and evidence to the probe team. Meanwhile, there were allegations and counter-allegations between the ruling Mahayuti alliance and opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena put out hoardings, banners, posters and newspaper ads describing the CM as "Dharmaveer", while BJP posters depicted Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis on posters saying "Badla poora" (meaning revenge has been taken).
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, who was in Mumbai, said, 'it is now clear from BJP posters and banners that the state government has no faith in justice, and is more intent on taking revenge.' Personally, I feel, the questions raised by Bombay High Court are valid. Police will have to prove in court whether it was an encounter or a shootout. For the moment, public sentiment is quite different. Those who have been demanding hanging of Akshay Shinde for sexually assaulting nursery kids, are happy with the outcome. It is true that a court of law should not be swayed by public sentiments, but political parties are trying to score brownie points. Opposition leaders are trying to tell people that the shootout took place in order to protect a BJP supporter, but even then, the same leaders are not opposing encounters. On the other hand, supporters of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Fadnavis are openly with public sentiment. They are clearly sending the message to the people that "revenge has been taken". From a moral point of view, the stands taken by both the ruling and opposition camps are questionable. The matter is now before the High Court. All of us should wait for the court's verdict. For the present, the swords are out in both camps in view of the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly elections.
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