Badlapur or Badla Poora: Encounter Or Shootout?
A division bench of Bombay High Court has raised critical questions relating to the death of Badlapur sexual assault accused, who was killed while being ferried in a police van from Taloja jail to Badlapur police station. Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan said, “it is very hard to believe that a man of slight build, such as the accused, could not be overpowered by four policemen sitting inside the van, when he turned violent. ” Raising question about the police version about how Akshay Shinde, the accused, was killed, the bench said, “we want to know the truth. We are not remotely suspecting activities done by police. But come clean.” Justice Chavan said, “Have you ever used a pistol? I have fired 100 times. It requires strength…A layman cannot fire a pistol, unless he is trained. Any Tom, Dick and Harry can fire from a revolver, but to fire from a pistol requires strength, unless it is made in Austria. A weak man cannot move the slide back….This can’t be termed an encounter. The definition of encounter is different.”
The division bench was hearing a petition filed by the deceased’s father seeking a SIT probe into the circumstances in which Shinde was killed. The bench said, “it appears he was shot at point-blank range…We need an impartial probe into the incident, even if there are cops involved.” Since the matter is being probed by CID, the High Court directed the police to hand over all documents and evidence to the probe team. Meanwhile, there were allegations and counter-allegations between the ruling Mahayuti alliance and opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena put out hoardings, banners, posters and newspaper ads describing the CM as “Dharmaveer”, while BJP posters depicted Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis on posters saying “Badla poora” (meaning revenge has been taken).
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, who was in Mumbai, said, ‘it is now clear from BJP posters and banners that the state government has no faith in justice, and is more intent on taking revenge.’ Personally, I feel, the questions raised by Bombay High Court are valid. Police will have to prove in court whether it was an encounter or a shootout. For the moment, public sentiment is quite different. Those who have been demanding hanging of Akshay Shinde for sexually assaulting nursery kids, are happy with the outcome. It is true that a court of law should not be swayed by public sentiments, but political parties are trying to score brownie points. Opposition leaders are trying to tell people that the shootout took place in order to protect a BJP supporter, but even then, the same leaders are not opposing encounters. On the other hand, supporters of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Fadnavis are openly with public sentiment. They are clearly sending the message to the people that “revenge has been taken”. From a moral point of view, the stands taken by both the ruling and opposition camps are questionable. The matter is now before the High Court. All of us should wait for the court’s verdict. For the present, the swords are out in both camps in view of the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly elections.
Encounters: Are They Caste Based ?
Two encounters, one in UP and the other in Maharashtra, have hit the news headlines, with political parties taking potshots at one another. Anuj Pratap Singh, an accused in the Sultanpur jewellery heist, carrying Rs 1 lakh reward on his head, was killed by UP Special Task Force, while in Maharashtra, Akshay Shinde, an accused in the sexual assault of school kids, was killed inside a police van while being ferried from Taloja jail to Badlapur.
UP encounter
First, the encounter in Unnao, UP. Anuj Pratap Singh was the second accused in the jewellery heist to be killed in an encounter. Earlier, his fellow suspect Mangesh Yadav was gunned down by STF. Of the 14 suspects, two robbers have been killed, nine are in jail and three others absconding. When Mangesh Yadav was killed, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that UP police was targeting a particular caste. The accused Anuj Pratap Singh, killed in Monday, was a Thakur, and Akhilesh’s party alleged that Chief Minister Yogi’s government was now trying “to create a balance between castes”. Akhilesh Yadav tweeted saying “fake encounter of anyone is nothing but injustice”. The debate on fake or real encounters has been going on since long, with the question being raised whether killing of criminals in encounter is justified. Akhilesh Yadav has added a caste angle to this debate. He has been asking, why only Yadavs or Muslims are being killed in encounters in UP, and why criminals belonging to other castes do not get hit by bullets? His question may be a valid one, but the remark of Anuj Pratap Singh’s father after his son’s death on Monday was – “Now Akhilesh Yadav’s heart will get relief”. This remark is loaded with meanings. I believe, criminals have no caste or religion. No caste or religion teaches anybody to kill, loot, extort or maim. But when the issue of caste was raised about encounters, I asked my reporters to find out statistics about those killed in encounters since Yogi Adityanath took over as Chief Minister in March, 2017. The facts are revealing. In the last seven years, 207 criminals were gunned down in encounters in UP. Of them, 67 were Muslims, 20 Brahmins, 18 Thakurs, 17 Jats and Gurjars, 16 Yadavs, 14 Dalits, three tribals, two Sikhs, 8 belonged to OBC castes and 42 belonged to other castes. To say that the UP police targets criminals in encounters on the basis of caste, is therefore, incorrect. But in politics, such facts are never touched. Politicians of most parties indulge in mudslinging in the name of caste and religion. This issue is going to crop up again, and again.
Maharashtra encounter
The man, Akshay Shinde, killed inside a police van while being taken from jail to Badlapur, used to work as a sweeper in a school. He allegedly assaulted two nursery students sexually. According to police, he snatched the revolver of a policeman inside the van, and fired three rounds, before he was shot. He was rushed to hospital, where he was declared dead, while the injured policeman is still in hospital. On hearing the death of Shinde, local residents in Badlapur distributed sweets, while opposition leaders questioned the circumstances in which he was shot. NCP chief Sharad Pawar demanded a high-level probe, while state Congress chief Nana Patole demanded a judicial probe. Maharahstra deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said, the accused was killed by police in self-defence. Fadnavis reminded that it was the opposition which was demanding public hanging of Akshay Shinde when news about sexual assault of nursery kids broke out, and now they have changed their tune. Encounter is not new to Mumbai Police. There was a time when ‘encounter specialists’ used to work in Mumbai Police, but their operations were limited to mafia gangsters. The Badlapur case is quite different. Akshay Shinde was facing serious allegations under POCSO act for sexually assaulting nursery kids and there was anger against him in public. There were several other cases against him. Prima facie the police statement that Akshay snatched the revolver and shot rounds, seems to be true. However, more facts will emerge only after a thorough probe. Since assembly elections are due in Maharashtra soon, political parties are bound to make it an issue. The same political parties who were demanding death by hanging for Akshay Shinde, are now questioning the intentions of the government. Their statements are purely political in nature. One will continue to hear similar remarks from both sides. But at least, nobody will allege that Akshay Shinde was killed because of his caste. Because both the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and the accused who was killed have Shinde as their surnames.