Badlapur encounter: High court flays police for not reconstructing crime scene

The Mumbra bypass spot where Akshay Shinde was shot dead

The division bench of the Bombay High Court, in its recent order while hearing the custodial death case of Akshay Shinde, the prime accused in the Badlapur POCSO case, observed that the crucial recreation of the scene of the incident is still pending and that the explanation provided for the delay appears flimsy.

Prosecution's submission

A team of forensic experts and police officers check the police van in which the incident occurred. Pics/Shadab Khan

During the course of the hearing, Dr Birendra Saraf, advocate general, tendered a report regarding the probe by the State CID from September 24 after the investigation was transferred to the State CID, Navi Mumbai. "Dr Saraf also placed on record a document which enlists questions raised by this court vide order dated October 3, and the reply to them. He has also tendered before us the forensic expert report. All the said documents are taken on record," the order read.

‘Appears to be flimsy'

"During the course of hearing, it was brought to our notice that the inquiry is still pending. It appears that the recreation of the scene of the incident is yet to be done. The explanation offered for the delay i.e. for not doing the same till date appears to be flimsy. Dr Saraf, on instructions of Prashant Waghunde, superintendent of police, State CID, Navi Mumbai, seeks two weeks' time to enable the police to submit all the documents to the learned magistrate conducting the inquiry under Sections 193 and 196 of the BNNS. Statement accepted. We find that unless all the documents are submitted by the police and as sought for by the magistrate, are handed over to the magistrate, the magistrate will not be in a position to complete his inquiry in time," the order stated.

‘Requests went unheeded'

"In order to suppress the truth, the government did not provide the required documents to the judicial magistrate who is conducting magisterial death inquiry of Shinde, as per the provisions of Section 196 of BNSS. We firmly believe that the government did not want to take any chance during election time, and hence deliberately delayed the process of State CID investigations and in submission of documents to JMFC, despite repeated requests," said Advocate Amit Katarnaware, who represents the petitioner.

Expert Speak

"It may not be possible to forensically reconstruct the crime scene, as the incident happened in a moving vehicle and it is prima-facie crucial to understand the speed of the vehicle, the exact positioning of the policemen and the under-trial inside it, the exact spot where the incident of shoot-out happened," said a forensic surgeon from Grant Medical College.

Forensic aspect

B B Daundakar, former director, of state forensic science laboratory, Kalina, said, "After the shoot out, it would have been advisable that the police stopped/parked their vehicle, without moving its position and should have protected the crime scene, for further forensic investigation, at the crime spot itself (Mumbra bypass). The escorting police party could have immediately contacted the police control room, informing them about the shootout, and could have called in for emergency backup including an ambulance for shifting the injured to the nearest hospital this would have prevented the police from disturbing the crime scene, which is very crucial for collection of maximum biological/ballistic evidence from the scene of crime."

Who is Akshay Shinde?

The 23-year-old was arrested in mid-August for allegedly sexually assaulting two four-year-old girls in the Badlapur school where he worked as an attendant. He was killed in ‘retaliatory action' on September 23 near Mumbra bypass after he allegedly snatched the gun of a policeman and fired shots while being escorted to Badlapur from Taloja jail as part of the probe into the case registered against him on the complaint of his former wife.