After the BJP-led MahaYuti government set up a Commission of Inquiry into the “encounter killing” of Badlapur children sexusal assault case Akshay Shinde, the Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the Magistrate looking into Shinde’ death to expedite its inquiry and submit its findings to it at the next hearing on November 18.
Hearing a PIL filed by the father of Shinde on the suspicious circumstances leading to the death of Shinde, a HC bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan asked the Thane Magistrate and the police to collect, preserve and get all the evidence relating to Shinde’s death in police custody.
Earlier, Advocate General Birendra Saraf told the court that all relevant documents have been forwarded to the magistrate for inquiry.
While asking the Magistrate to start the inquiry proceedings quickly and submit its report quickly after hearing all parties in the case.
“Law requires that when there is a custodial death, the investigation be conducted by the Magistrate. Let the investigation be conducted. We will wait for the report of the magistrate,” the HC bench said.
“The Magistrate should expedite the inquiry and submit its report to the court by November 18.
Akshay Shinde -- key accused in the sensational Badlapur child sexual assault --was shot dead at a point blank range while he was being taken from Badlapur to Thane in a van for investigation in another case.
It may be recalled that two nursery girls - aged four and six years -- were sexually abused allegedly by sweeper Shinde when they in the washroom of the kindergarten school run by Adarsh Vidya Prasarak Sanstha (AVPS) on August 13 for using the toilet there. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Thane police that investigated the case has filed a charge-sheet in the case before the special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act court in Kalyan.
The incident caused a major public uproar in the state and always as other parts of the state. The Opposition MVA - comprising Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) - had demanded a judicial probe into the suspicious circumstances leading to the accused Shinde’ s death in a police can.
Directing the prosecution to collect strong forensic evidence in the case, the HC asked the prosecution if the police had collected forensic evidence from the body of the deceased. “Every firearm has a peculiar pattern and the residue it leaves is also different. The residue left on the deceased’s head where he was shot, his hands when he opened fire from the police’s pistol needs to be collected, preserved and analysed forensically, “ the HC bench said
“Dead body is the most silent and honest witness,.. There is a need to collect and preserve all evidence. Bullets were fired from two different firearms in the incident. Empty shells found were of two different arms. The firing pin of every gun is different. This can be a conclusive proof which firing arm will have which firing pin,” the HC bench aid.
“We want to see a report showing this conclusively,” the HC bench said, while wanting to know from the police State CID police who are investigating the case if the bullet had pierced through the accused. Advocate General Saraf replied in the affirmative.
Expressing its displeasure over the failure to recover a bottle of water that was given to the accused when he asked for water in the vehicle. “The police’s case is that the handcuffs of the accused were removed after he asked for water after which he forcibly snatched the pistol of one of the police officers and opened fire. “It ( bottle) is an important piece of evidence,” the bench said.
Seeking the medical report of the police officer who sustained injury in the firing opened by the deceased accused, the HC bench said: “The police officer who sustained gunshot injury...Has he been examined properly? Was there any residue or blackening at the spot?
We need to see that. Was there an entry and exit wound on the thigh of the police officer who got hurt?”
At a hearing held on September 25, a HC bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan had questioned the version put out by the police Shinde was shot by the police in self defence. Justice Chavan said “it is hard to believe” that a man of slight build as Akshay Shinde could be overpowered by the four policemen when he turned violent and pulled the slide back on a 9 mm pistol for firing which “requires strength”.
