The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the the Maharashtra government to register a First Information Report (FIR) against five police officials allegedly involved in the custodial death of the janitor, accused in the Badlapur sexual assault case.
The direction was given after the Division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale reviewed a Megistrate report which has conducted a probe into the custodial death of Akshay Shinde.
The Thane megistrate which has conducted a probe found five police officers responsible for the death of the accused. ‘court ruled that an FIR must be registered against them, and an investigation will follow’.
The five police officials are Senior Police Inspector Sanjay Shinde (Thane Crime Branch), Assistant Police Inspector Nilesh More, head constables Abhijeet More and Harish Tawade, and the driver.
Shinde, aged 24, was arrested in August 2024 for allegedly sexually assaulting two young girls at a school in Badlapur.
On September 24, he was killed during a police shootout while being transported to a transit remand for interrogation.
Police claimed that Shinde had snatched an officer’s gun and opened fire, injuring one officer, leading to a retaliatory shot that fatally wounded him. The police maintain this was an act of self-defense.
The family of the Shinde has contested the police version of events, claiming that the encounter was staged and moved the court against it.