‘Police won’t clap if…’: Devendra Fadnavis on Badlapur sexual assault case accused’s encounter

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday backed the Thane Police over the Badlapur sexual assault accused’s encounter saying that he was shot in “self-defence”. He added that the police would “not clap” if they were attacked.

“We do not believe in encounters, and I personally believe that the rule of law must be followed and, accordingly, the criminal must be punished. This must be done quickly. But our police will not clap if attacked,” Devendra Fadnavis told India Today.

Akshay Shinde, who was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing two four-year-old girls at a school toilet in Badlapur, was killed in an alleged shoot-out with police earlier this week. The incident took place while Akshay Shinde was being brought from Taloja Central Jail to the Thane Crime branch office under transit remand in another case when he opened fire on the police with their revolver near the Mumbra bypass.

A day after the encounter, posters featuring Devendra Fadnavis wielding a revolver and gun with the phrase ‘Badla Pura’ (revenge completed) appeared across Mumbai. Responding to this, the deputy chief minister told the news channel that it is “absolutely wrong”, adding that the “glorification of such incidents should not happen”.

He further asserted that the state CID would conduct a fair probe into the incident.

Akshay Shinde’s encounter sparked a controversy between the ruling Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government and the opposition in Maharashtra. The opposition and Shinde’s family have expressed doubts over the police’s version of the encounter.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said there was a “competition” between Shinde and Fadnavis over the credit of the encounter.

‘Foul play’: Bombay high court

The Bombay high court pulled up the Maharashtra Police over the custodial death of Akshay Shinde saying there appeared to be foul play and an impartial probe was needed into the incident. The high court also noted that the shoot-out of Akshay Shinde could have been avoided, asking why the police did not try to overpower him first.

“Why was the accused shot in the head directly and not in the legs or arms first…The moment he pulled the first trigger, the others could have easily overpowered him. He wasn’t a huge, built up or strong man. This is very difficult to accept. This cannot be termed as an encounter,” Justice Prithviraj Chavan said.