Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday pulled up the Maharashtra Police over the custodial death of Badlapur sexual assault accused Akshay Shinde, saying this “cannot be termed as an encounter”.
Fair probe
A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan said the probe into the death of the accused should be conducted in fair and impartial manner.
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 bullet in head?
“Why was the accused shot in head directly and not in legs or arms first,” the Bombay High Court questioned.
“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.
Petition by father Anna Shinde
Akshay Shinde's father Anna Shinde has in a petition to Bombay high court on Tuesday through lawyer Amit Katranvare alleged that his son was killed in a fake encounter and demanded a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case.
During the hearing, the High Court told the public prosecutor that a revolver can't be unlocked quickly by a physically weak man. “It is not very easy,” it said. (with Media inputs)
