Posters featuring Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis holding gun emerged in Mumbai and surrounding cities on Wednesday (September 25), just two days after death of Akshay Shinde, the accused in Badlapur school sexual assault case. The posters read 'Badla Pura' (The revenge is complete). Fadnavis can be seen brandishing a pistol as well as a rifle in what are most likely to be doctored images on these posters.
The posters looked like apparent attempts to link and credit the deputy CM for the death of the accused in a police encounter. There was immense public anger against Shinde, who was accused of sexually assaulting two four-year-old girls in toilet of a school in Badlapur.
Although Fadnavis was active on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, there was no immediate comment from him about the posters in the city.
Something fishy?
The police are being accused of having meted out 'quick justice' through what is being accused as having been a staged encounter.
As per version given by the police, Shinde was being transported from Taloja jail to Badlapur when he snatched a gun from a police official and opened fire. Police say that Shinde died as officials retaliated in self-defence and shot him. A police officer by the name Sanjay Shinde was injured due to bullets fired by the accused, say the police. The accused was killed near Mumbra bypass.
Akshay Shinde's parents have refused to believe the police account and have alleged that he has been killed by the police.
"My son was scared of bursting crackers. How could he snatch a pistol from a police officer and open fire?" claimed Anna Shinde, Akshay's father, as quoted by Press Trust of India (PTI).
Akshay's father moved the Bombay High Court on Tuesday and urged it to look into his custodial death. He has sought an urgent hearing. The court will hold a hearing on Wednesday.
