Could Badlapur 'encounter' be a boon for the ruling Shinde-Fadnavis NDA bloc in Maharashtra?

The death of the accused in the Badlapur sexual assault case in a retaliatory firing on Monday has sparked a massive controversy in Maharashtra.

Two days after the incident, hoardings congratulating Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have appeared in various locations.

This comes ahead of the crucial Maharashtra Assembly elections that are scheduled to take place in the second week of November.

It looks like the ruling NDA bloc has intensified its political rhetoric in the lead-up to the polls.

Here’s how it could be a turning point in the run-up to the elections.

The posters

Several banners featuring Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis have appeared across Mumbai.

One of the posters features Fadnavis brandishing a revolver while the words “Badla Pura” — which means “revenge completed” — are displayed boldly.

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Notably, many of these posters don’t specify which political party they are linked.

After Badlapur sexual abuse accused Akshay Shinde's death in a custodial van, posters of 'Badlapura' with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were seen in Mumbai. #Badlapur #BadlapurCase pic.twitter.com/qod5ottyMD

— Vani Mehrotra (@vani_mehrotra) September 25, 2024

Furthermore, in some banners, the Maha Vikas Aghadi has been singled out by the BJP, saying that the MVA encouraged corruption while in office.

One of the posters claims, “During the MVA administration, police collected money for the government, now, the police protect the public.”

The Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde, has also run newspaper advertising in which they refer to the chief minister as “Dharamvir” and blame competitors of politicising sensitive issues such as rape, as per NDTV.

A turning point

Crucial Maharashtra Assembly elections are coming up in November.

In the run-up, the Badlapur sex assault case and the accused's untimely death have become major points of contention.

After suffering a loss in the June Lok Sabha election, the ruling NDA alliance of the BJP, Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP is hoping to reverse the trend in the state polls.

The bloc was put on the defensive, especially after the opposition questioned the state’s law and order situation after two four-year-old girls were sexually assaulted by Akshay Shinde at a school’s toilet last month.

Now that the accused is dead, the alliance will try to control the narrative and gain the upper hand.

CM Shinde and Fadnavis both have slammed the opposition for questioning the accused’s death in custody.

The incident

Akshay Shinde, 24, was being taken from Taloja jail to Badlapur for an investigation into a new abuse and rape case filed by his ex-wife.

He allegedly snatched assistant police inspector Nilesh More’s service gun when they were near Mumbai Bypass and fired three rounds. Two of the shots missed their aim and one struck More’s leg.

Another official retaliated by firing back at Shinde, leaving him critically injured. He was declared dead at a hospital. A team of five doctors at JJ Hospital conducted the post-mortem and handed over the body and report to the Mumbra police.

Shinde’s father, Anna Shinde, has now approached the Bombay High Court, alleging that his son was killed in a “fake encounter.” The family has alleged that Akshay was killed as part of a conspiracy by police and management of the school. “We want justice. The family would have accepted the verdict delivered by the court after a trial, but we are poor people; we don’t have a voice,” Anna told PTI.

The opposition, too, termed it a “fake encounter,” while demanding a judicial probe.

याची न्यायिक चौकशी झालीच पाहिजे!

अक्षय शिंदे याने गोळी झाडून घेणे म्हणजे पुरावा नष्ट करण्याचा प्रयत्न आहे का??
अक्षय शिंदे याने गोळी नेमकी कशी झाडली?
आरोपी अक्षय पोलिसांच्या ताब्यात असताना त्याचे हात बांधले नव्हते का? त्याला बंदूक कशी काय त्याला मिळाली? पोलिस इतके बेसावध कसे असू…

— Vijay Wadettiwar (@VijayWadettiwar) September 23, 2024

Government’s response

CM Eknath Shinde and his deputy Fadnavis said police shot dead Akshay in self-defence.

Shinde slammed the opposition by saying, “Earlier, the opposition parties demanded that Akshay Shinde be hanged. Now, they are taking his side and questioning the integrity of Maharashtra police. Such act of the opposition leaders is condemnable and unfortunate.”

He explained that the police were taking him to Badlapur to probe allegations made by his ex-wife.

“The opposition raises questions on every issue. They had wanted him to be hanged. It is wrong to say such things when the police tried to save lives,” the Deputy CM echoed.

Bombay HC on the encounter

Hearing the petition submitted by Akshay’s father, the Bombay High Court questioned the cause and circumstances leading to the 24-year-old’s death.

The state government’s counsel said the pistol allegedly snatched by Akshay could in unlocked in two ways. “One way is pulling the upper portion, the deceased pulled the slider, it popped and he fired,” he said. However, the court said this was “hard to believe" that the police could not overpower a layman.

“It requires strength for the slider to pop. (A) layman cannot fire a pistol unless he is trained, (a) revolver is different. According to you, he fired three bullets. Only one hit the police officer. What about the others?”

“Why was the accused shot in the head, and not in the hand or legs first? How could we believe that the police could not overpower the accused?” the court asked.

“Till he fired three shots, where were you? You could have easily overpowered (him). It is not like he was a hefty man. This can’t be termed as an encounter. This is not an encounter,” the court said.

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan also directed the government to check CCTV cameras and conduct an “impartial” investigation.

The bench posted the matter for further hearing on October 3.

CID investigation

The Maharashtra government has instructed the state Crime Investigation Department (CID) to conduct a probe into Akshay’s death.

The team is expected to visit the Mumbra Bypass crime scene and take statements from the police officers who were present during the incident.

The sexual assault case

Two kindergarten students in Badlapur were sexually assaulted in a school toilet by Akshay on August 12. He was appointed on a contractual basis to clean school washrooms on August 1.

The 23-year-old accused was arrested on August 17 – five days after the parents learnt about the incident and filed an FIR.

Following the horrifying rape-murder of a young doctor at a hospital in Kolkata, the tragedy had sparked widespread protests in the Thane town. Police had to physically remove thousands of people who had been blocking local train tracks for hours.

The police investigation was harshly criticised by the Bombay High Court, which had acted suo motu. The court specifically pointed out that the police deviated from rules while questioning the children.

“The mandate of the law is not followed by Badlapur police. They attempted to record the victim girl’s statements at the police station. There is complete non-compliance with the mandate. Asking the victim and her parents to come to the police station for a statement recording is completely insensitive and against the law,” the court said.

The school faced criticism as well; the court questioned their recruitment process and their decision to let male attendants and cleaners into the girls’ restrooms.

With inputs from agencies