Badlapur encounter: Cop’s transfer 20 days before controversial shootout rouses doubts

Pradeep Sharma. File pic/Satej Shinde (right) Mansukh Hiren. Pic/X

The recent transfer of Sanjay Shinde to the Central Unit of the Thane Crime Branch just 20 days before the alleged self-defence encounter has raised eyebrows. Previously assigned to the Special Branch, he was asked to join the SIT, formed by the Maharashtra government, to investigate the Badlapur sexual assault case. However, he was called back to the commissioner's office due to law and order concerns and was subsequently appointed as the investigating officer for the unnatural sex case filed by Akshay Shinde's wife.

Police Inspector Sanjay Ramchandra Shinde, 57, a 1992 batch officer of the Maharashtra police, was promoted to ACP earlier this year and transferred to Navi Mumbai. However, he refused the promotion and chose to remain as a PI with the Thane police. According to regulations, an officer who declines a promotion should be given a non-executive posting, but despite his refusal, he was posted to a unit of the Crime Branch. Initially stationed in the Special Branch of the Thane police, Shinde was transferred to the Crime Branch Central Unit on September 3, just 20 days before the alleged self-defence encounter involving Akshay Shinde. Sanjay Shinde has a questionable past.

Sanjay Shinde was posted in Thane, where he initially joined the Anti-Extortion Unit under Pradeep Sharma (in picture). File pic/Satej Shinde

Sources reveal that Sanjay Shinde was part of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which was probing the Badlapur sexual assault case, in which Akshay Shinde was accused. During the investigation, Shinde was called back to the Thane police due to a law-and-order issue. He was relieved by the SIT chief and returned to the Thane Police Special Branch. Just days before the encounter, he was reassigned to the Crime Branch Central Unit as a senior PI.

According to sources, Sanjay Shinde recorded a statement from Akshay Shinde's wife during the SIT investigation, with a female officer present. On September 5, a case under Section 377 (unnatural sex) of the IPC was registered against Akshay Shinde, with Sanjay Shinde serving as the investigating officer. Following this, the Thane commissioner formed a new SIT, headed by Assistant Commissioner of Crime Shekhar Bagde, with a 15-member team.

Despite this, Sanjay Shinde continued as the investigating officer for the case, which was registered under the IPC because the incident occurred before the BNS law came into effect on July 1. Akshay Shinde's ex-wife, who married him in 2021, claimed she left him within 13 days due to sexual harassment. A new case was registered at the Badlapur police station and later transferred to Thane Crime Branch Central Unit, with Shinde still overseeing the investigation.

Recent career timeline

Since 2018, Sanjay Shinde has been posted in Thane, where he initially joined the Anti-Extortion Unit under encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma. He later transferred to the Anti-Narcotics Cell and was also posted to the Central Unit. After serving in the Special Branch, he was promoted to ACP for Navi Mumbai, but he declined the promotion and remained with Thane Police. Recently, he was transferred to the Crime Branch Central Unit as a Senior PI.

Tainted history

Sanjay Shinde has a checkered past. In 2012, he was suspended for allegedly allowing murder accused Vijay Palande to escape during his tenure as PI of Mumbai Crime Branch Unit 08. Palande was his relative. Then Mumbai police commissioner, Arup Patnaik, recommended Shinde's dismissal, but the DGP of Maharashtra rejected the proposal, leading to his reinstatement.

Sources within the police reveal that in 1998, Shinde allegedly shot a colleague while intoxicated during the Gatari festival. He was suspended during the investigation and later transferred to Nagpur. Reportedly, his political connections led to his reinstatement. There are also reports of his alleged ties with gangster Abu Salem during the 2000 Milton kidnapping case, in which Salem's men abducted managing director Chiranjeevi Vaghani. Police sources suggest that Shinde was interrogated due to his suspected connection with Salem.