Devendra Fadnavis rejects criticism on Badlapur case: Self-defence by cops

Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has rejected the allegations made by the Opposition after the police shot dead Badlapur school sexual assault case accused Akshay Shinde.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a Bombay High Court event, Fadnavis said that the Opposition has been raising questions about “anything and everything”.
“It was this very Opposition which said that the accused should be hanged and now when the accused shot at the policeman, will the policemen protect themselves or not? I think it is wrong at the way this is being made into an issue,” said Fadnavis.
Both Fadnavis and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde were present at the groundbreaking ceremony of a new Bombay High Court building in Bandra when news of accused Akshay Shinde being shot at reached everyone.
According to the police, Akshay Shinde, accused of sexually abusing two minor girls in the school where he worked as an attendant, was being taken to Badlapur from Taloja jail for investigation when he snatched a policeman’s gun and fired at an assistant inspector when the police vehicle reached Mumbra bypass.
He was killed in retaliatory firing by a police officer who was part of the escort team.
In August this year, massive protests erupted on the streets and at a local railway station in Badlapur after two minor girls were allegedly sexually assaulted by Shinde in the toilet of a school in Badlapur town of Maharashtra’s Thane district.
The school had appointed 23-year-old Shinde on a contractual basis to clean their toilets on August 1. But within 10 days of joining, he allegedly sexually assaulted two girls on different days. The Maharashtra government set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case.