Officer who shot Akshay Shinde worked with top ‘encounter specialist’ Pradeep Sharma

Akshay Shinde, a 23-year-old man accused of sexually abusing two minor girls in Badlapur, Maharashtra, was shot dead by police after he allegedly grabbed a constable’s gun and fired at them. The incident took place while Shinde was being shifted from Taloja Jail to Badlapur for further investigation. Assistant Police Inspector Nilesh More and Senior Inspector Sanjay Shinde were injured in the shootout, with Sanjay Shinde firing the fatal shot. Akshay was later declared brought dead at Kalwa Civil Hospital.

It is pertinent to note that Sanjay Shinde, who fired the fatal bullet, had earlier worked with renowned encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma. The two officers were part of the Thane Police Crime Branch’s anti-extortion cell, India Today reported. Notably, this team had arrested underworld figure Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Iqbal Kaskar in connection with an extortion case in 2017.

Pradeep Sharma joined the police force in 1983 and is known for killing over 100 criminals in the 1990s as part of his operations against Mumbai’s underworld, such as the Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajan gangs. He was convicted in the 2006 fake encounter case involving Ramnarayan Gupta, an alleged aide of gangster Chhota Rajan.

Pradeep Sharma was seen in the Netflix docuseries ‘Mumbai Mafia: Police vs The Underworld’.

Sanjay Shinde, who previously worked with the Mumbai Police, is currently a member of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the Badlapur rape case. In the past, he had faced investigations into allegedly helping murder suspect Vijay Palande escape from custody in 2012, according to the India Today report. It was discovered that they knew each other and the officer’s uniform was found in Palande’s vehicle. Despite these controversies, Shinde was reinstated by the Mumbai Police in 2014.

ALSO READ | Badlapur case of sexual abuse accused transferred after woman filed complaint

Family of Akshay Shinde, accused of sexual abuse in Badlapur, alleges ‘encounter’

Akshay Shinde’s family has disputed the police account, calling it an “encounter” and calling for an independent inquiry into his death. Akshay Shinde, a contractual sweeper at a school in Badlapur, was arrested on August 17 on charges of sexually abusing two kindergarten girls. His father, Anna Shinde, demanded an inquiry into the incident, while his mother and uncle suggested that the police had colluded with the school authorities.

“My son was afraid to set off firecrackers and cross the road. How can he shoot at policemen?” his mother asked, as quoted by news agency PTI. She also alleged that her son was beaten in police cells and had written a note to the family asking for money.

Police officials said Shinde was being transported as part of an investigation into a complaint filed by his ex-wife when he allegedly grabbed a police officer’s gun near the Mumbra Bypass. After injuring API Nilesh More, he was shot in retaliation by Senior Inspector Sanjay Shinde.