Badlapur sexual assaults: Akshay Shinde’s parents seek to withdraw case questioning encounter killing

When the court asked them whether they were being pressured to withdraw, they replied in the negative, instead saying they could not run around behind the case anymore as they had to tend to their pregnant daughter-in-law, Akshay’s wife

MUMBAI: Over four months after approaching the Bombay high court seeking an investigation into their son’s extra-judicial killing, the parents of Akshay Shinde, the accused in the Badlapur school sexual assaults case who was killed in a police encounter in September, appeared to have given up.

The parents of Akshay Shinde (mother Alka Shinde father Anna Shinde), the accused in the Badlapur two minor girls abuse case, have alleged that Akshay was killed by the police. The premises of Kalwa Hospital have said that Akshay's diedbody will not be taken into custody until justice is served.... Praful Gangurde HT photos (Hindustan Times)

On Thursday, just three days after claiming they were being threatened and pressured to withdraw the case, the Shindes told the court they did not wish to pursue their petition. When the court asked them whether they were being pressured to withdraw, they replied in the negative, instead saying they could not run around behind the case anymore as they had to tend to their pregnant daughter-in-law, Akshay’s wife.

However, a bench of justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale said the case cannot be closed now as “so much has happened”. To be sure, the Shindes’ request to withdraw their petition was made verbally, and no formal application had been filed.

Anna Shinde and his wife’s world turned upside down when their 24-year-old son, Akshay, who worked as a contractual cleaner at a pre-primary school in Badlapur, was arrested on August 17 for allegedly sexually assaulting two four-year-old girls in a bathroom. Four days after his arrest, a mob stormed into their home and assaulted them and their family members, forcing them to flee from their home.

The Shindes never returned to their Badlapur home, which was later sealed by a bank after they failed to repay a loan. As the sexual assaults case blew up, leading to widespread protests across the state and a political slugfest, the elderly couple claimed they were forced to sleep at railway stations, bus stands, or even on the footpath among homeless people as nobody was willing to give them shelter, until Anna Shinde’s brother eventually opened up his home for them.

Akshay Shinde was eventually shot dead in a police encounter on September 23 while being transported from Taloja jail to Thane for questioning. The police claimed they shot him in “retaliatory firing” after he snatched the gun of a police officer and fired three rounds, one of which hit an officer. The very next day, Anna Shinde approached the Bombay high court, seeking a court-monitored probe by a special investigation team (SIT) into the extra-judicial killing of his son.

It wasn’t long before Anna Shinde sought police protection for himself and his family members, saying they were receiving death threats after he filed the petition. He even claimed that civic authorities were not granting his family permission to bury Akshay’s body due to political pressure.

“Without even framing charges against him, everyone has presumed my son guilty and are now denying him the basic right of a decent burial. Is this fair?” he had said in late September. “The trauma we have faced is the worst situation anyone could endure. It would have felt more just if Akshay had been declared guilty and sentenced to death. At least then we could have got some closure.”

Despite the trauma, the alleged threats and pressure to withdraw the case, Anna Shinde persevered. Until Thursday, when it appeared he had finally given up, before the high court turned down his verbal request.

During Thursday’s proceedings, the high court also questioned the state government why a first information report (FIR) had not been filed against the five police officers indicted in an inquiry report submitted by a magistrate, who had found them responsible for Akshay Shinde’s custodial death. The report said their claims about the circumstances leading to Akshay being shot dead were doubtful, and there was substance in Anna Shinde’s allegations that the encounter was fake.

Senior advocate Amit Desai, appearing for the state government, told the high court that the police would have to conduct an independent investigation into the matter before registering an FIR against the five officers. “We are not bound by the findings of the magisterial report,” Desai said, as a magisterial inquiry’s scope is limited to determining the cause of death and not assigning responsibility.

In response, the court asked why the police hadn’t conducted an investigation so far. “Today, if you are saying that you are still investigating, then we are appalled. Are you serious that the investigation is incomplete?” The court also reminded the state government that once an Accidental Death Report (ADR) had been filed, an FIR needed to be registered. “Tell us, what is the next logical step after an accidental death report?” the judges said.

Desai, however, reiterated that it was not possible to act on the ADR without a proper investigation. “All we are asking for is a chance. The test for going ahead with the investigation is that there should be unimpeachable evidence against police officers accused of extra-judicial killing. This can only be found in an investigation by the police…”

The court then asked the state government what was left to be investigated. “We have made sure that everything was made available to the magistrate. What is left to be investigated?” Public prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar, also present for the hearing, replied, “Certain documents that are relied on and collected by the magistrate but not with the police will be needed after perusing the magistrate’s report.”

Advocate Amit Katarnaware, appearing on behalf of Anna Shinde, then pointed out that the police had registered an FIR against Akshay Shinde for allegedly shooting a police officer in his leg without first registering an ADR and doing a preliminary investigation, but no FIR had been filed against the police officer who shot Akshay dead.

The court then posted the matter for a further hearing on Friday, when it is likely to pass further orders. It also allowed the application filed by the five police officers seeking access to the magistrate’s inquiry report indicting them.