A magistrate's inquiry has attributed responsibility to five policemen for the custodial death of Akshay Shinde, the accused in the Badlapur school sexual assault case.
On Monday, the magistrate submitted its report to the Bombay High Court, which was hearing a plea filed by Shinde's father, Anna Shinde, alleging his son was killed in a fake encounter.
Akshay Shinde (24) was arrested in August 2024 for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls inside a school toilet in Badlapur. He worked as an attendant at the school.
In September, Shinde was killed in an alleged police shootout while being transported from Taloja prison for questioning. The police claimed he snatched a gun from one of the personnel in the police van and opened fire, leading to retaliatory shooting.
Under the law, a magistrate's inquiry is mandatory in cases where an accused dies in police custody.
The division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale examined the report. The magistrate concluded that the five police officers present in the van were responsible for Shinde’s death.
The court noted that, according to the law, an FIR would now be registered against these five policemen, and an investigation would be conducted.
Public prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar was instructed to inform the bench within two weeks regarding which probe agency would handle the investigation.
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