'Breakdown of law, raises suspicion': Opposition on Badlapur sexual assault accused encounter

Thane (Maharashtra) [India], September 23 : The opposition, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), slammed the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government on Monday over the encounter of the Badlapur sexual assault accused near Thane and criticised the Mahayuti, terming the killing as a breakdown of law and raising questions over the justice system in the state.
NCP MP Supriya Sule slammed the Mahayuti government and said, "The Mahayuti government's approach to the Badlapur sexual assault case of two minor girls is shocking! Delay in the filing of the FIR first, and now the prime accused is killed in custody! This is an absolute breakdown of law enforcement and the justice system. This is inexcusable. It deprives the people of Maharashtra of justice."
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also reacted to the same and dubbed it "incompetence" of the Mahayuti government, adding the co-accused in the case are on the run and said that the entire altercation is a "story written by the state government."
"The accused is dead, and the other co-accused under POCSO who were the school board members as well as BJP office bearers are on the run. Such a textbook case of shoot and scoot tactics applied by an incompetent government," posted the Rajya Sabha MP on X.
"Coming soon, nobody sexually assaulted the 6-year-olds. A story written, sponsored, and executed by the state government," Chaturvedi added.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and spokesperson Anand Dubey also spoke on the incident and said, "The Home Minister and Police should form an SIT to probe the matter as there are many doubts. The government and police should clarify and tell the public what happened."

Maharashtra Assembly Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar demanded a judicial probe in the matter, while state Congress chief Nana Patole questioned whether the "encounter" was done to save trustees of the school who have not been arrested so far.
NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar, while saying that the incident "raises suspicion," posted on X, "The injustice done to two children in Badlapur should have rightly resulted in the death penalty within the appropriate legal framework. However, the negligence shown by the Home Department while transferring the main accused in this case raises suspicions."
"It seems the government has failed to instill enough fear of the law to prevent anyone from even imagining such a heinous act in the future. A thorough investigation into this incident is expected to bring the truth to light," he added.

Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan spoke on the matter and said, "He was murdered in cold blood. Nobody will believe that it was an encounter. It is a black day for Maharashtra Police, as once upon a time it had a great reputation."
"I have demanded an inquiry from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who was in Mumbai at the same time. I don't believe Maharashtra Police under the current dispensation will be able to do justice. The real perpetrators of this crime will never be found. People of Maharashtra would like to know the truth," Chavan said.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said, "We are coming to know that the accused in the Badlapur sexual assault case has died. Our demand is that no accused should be spared so that such an incident does not repeat. Why the government is trying to protect the main culprits, the court should investigate this, this is the demand of the Congress party."
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam also slammed the opposition for raising questions on the encounter of the Badlapur accused and said, "The encounter of the accused in the Badlapur incident is good news...Those who are raising questions on this encounter, I want to ask them, are they standing with the accused or with the Maharashtra Police?
"When this incident took place, these were the people who were saying that the accused should be publicly punished, and today they are raising questions on this. I would appeal to all the opposition leaders to stand with the Maharashtra Police instead of shedding tears for the accused," said Nirupam.
Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, "His (Akshay Shinde) ex-wife had lodged a complaint of sexual assault against him. Police, along with a warrant, were taking him for an investigation in the case. He snatched the police gun and fired on police personnel and in the air too. Police fired on him in self-defence. He was taken to the hospital. Doctors will declare it later, but the preliminary information that we have is that he has died."
"The opposition raises questions on everything; the same opposition was asking to hang him. If he had attacked the police, wouldn't the police do the self-defence? It's wrong to create any issue out of it," said Fadnavis.
According to information received from Thane Police, the accused, Akshay Shinde, was being taken from Taloja Jail to Badlapur in a new case filed by his wife when he snatched the weapon from a police official and opened fire and got injured near Mumbra bypass, and later he was taken to the hospital where he died.
The man accused in the sexual assault case of two minor girls in Badlapur died on Monday evening in retaliatory firing after he snatched a gun from a police officer and opened fire at him.
The alleged sexual assault of two fourth-grade girls at a school in Maharashtra's Badlapur had sparked outrage. On August 17, police arrested an attendant of the school for allegedly abusing the girls.
The state government had formed an SIT to probe the sexual assault case.