Akshay Shinde, a contractual sweeper who was accused of sexually assaulting two minor girls at a school in Badlapur town of Maharashtra’s Thane district was killed on Monday evening when he allegedly snatched the gun of a policeman while he was being transported from Taloja Jail in Navi Mumbai to Thane.
The incident occurred inside a moving police van, with Shinde and officers exchanging fire.
According to sources, the encounter unfolded when the accused snatched a pistol from assistant police inspector (API) Nilesh More. A scuffle ensued, and Shinde reportedly fired three rounds inside the police van.
Inspector Sanjay Shinde, who was also in the van, retaliated by firing one round. This shot proved fatal. “The bullet hit him directly in the face, and he died instantly,” sources said.
Despite the chaotic scene inside the van, the vehicle did not stop during the encounter. The police team chose to drive directly to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa. “The priority was to take the injured to the hospital as soon as possible,” said an officer. This decision was made despite four rounds of gunfire being exchanged inside the confined space of the van.
At the time of the incident, aside from inspector Sanjay Shinde and API Nilesh More, there were two constables in the van.
According to a source at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa, the first bullet fired by Akshay Shinde passed through Nilesh More’s leg. “After the incident, two police personnel in the vehicle experienced high blood pressure issues and were initially treated at the same hospital before being sent to a private hospital,” he added. The source also stated that Akshay Shinde was brought in dead, as the bullet had damaged his skull, which suggests he may have died on the spot. After the firing at 6.25 pm on Monday, the police arrived at Kalwa Hospital at 6.35 pm with the three cops in need of care and Akshay’s body.
Notably, there were no CCTV cameras inside the van, nor were there any on the road where the incident took place. There are currently no witnesses to corroborate the sequence of events. This lack of visual evidence could complicate the investigation, said sources.
According to Thane police sources, the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team that examined the police van where the encounter took place managed to recover four empty bullet shells and two different blood samples.
Given the nature of the incident, Thane police sources have indicated that this case will be treated as a custodial death. The matter will be handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for a thorough probe.
“Once the case is officially transferred, the CID will investigate whether there were any violations of standard operating procedures (SOPs) in the handling of the prisoner,” a source said. The Thane police have already communicated with the CID, seeking their involvement in the investigation.
The death of Akshay Shinde in police custody has raised concerns and investigators are likely to scrutinise whether all protocols were followed. The absence of CCTV footage, combined with the fact that no external witnesses have come forward, means the investigation will rely heavily on the accounts of the officers involved and forensic evidence.
The family of the deceased has approached the Bombay High Court, seeking the establishment of a special investigation team to probe what it has called a “fake encounter”.
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