Aditya Thackeray Slams Maha Govt Over Badlapur Encounter, Claims 'A Shinde Killed To Protect An Apte'

Aditya Thackeray pointed out at various questions surrounding the custodial death of Akshay Shinde, the main accused in the Badlapur sexual assault case.

Badlapur Encounter: Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) faction leader Aditya Thackeray on Wednesday expressed concern over the custodial death of Badlapur sexual assault main accused Akshay Shinde. Raising concern over his death, Thackeray questioned whether a "Shinde had been killed to protect an Apte". This comes as the incident sparked a political storm in the state ahead of the Mahrashtra Assembly polls with Opposition accusing the ruling government of gaining political sympathy from the encounter.

Thackeray seemed to be referring to Tushar Apte, who serves as the secretary of the trust running the school, where the sexual assault took place. As per media reports he is said to have links to the Bharatiya Janata Party and was the BJP president of the public welfare committee of Ambarnath.

Thackeray also highlighted various questions floating around Shinde's death. "Whether it was an encounter, a killing, or a suicide... many questions are being raised," India Today quoted Thackeray as saying.

Shinde was shot dead in retaliatory firing by the police while he was being escorted from Taloja jail to Badlapur in connection with a case filed by his ex-wife. He allegedly opened fire at the police team after snaching a pistol, which injured three cops. The accused was then killed by the police in retaliatory firing. 

The Uddhav Sena leader also said that the Badlapur sexual assault case was an absolute failure of the Eknath-Shinde led government. He stated that the incident was against the basic moral principles as he stressed how the victim's mother had to repeatedly visit the police station to file a complaint.

Shinde was accused of sexually assualting two kindergarten girls in a school in Maharashtra's Badlapur last month. He was appointed by the school as a contractural sweeper on August 1. A few days later, he was arrested on August 17 when it was brought to light that he sexually assaulted the four-year-old girls. Massive protests erupted in the town following this as hundreds of people took to the streets demanding action against the accused.

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde had justified the action taken by the police in self-defence. Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis also slammed the Opposition for questioning "everything" and for creating an issue out of the incident despite demanding capital punishment for Shinde earlier.

Earlier today, the Bombay High Court came down heavily on the Maharashtra police for Akshay Shinde's death, raising serious concerns about the circumstances regarding the incident.