Justice bang on the spot?

Badlapur sexual assault accused 'shot dead in police van scuffle'

- Aishwarya lyer, NK Gupta & Prashant Narvekar

The man accused of sexually as-saulting two girls at a school in Badlapur last month -- Akshay Shinde, 24, -- was shot dead by police on Monday evening, reportedly during a scuffle in the police vehicle that was transporting him from Taloja Jail to Badlapur.

The police said that Shinde snatched a revolver from one of the policemen accompanying him in the vehicle and shot at them before the men in khaki fired back at him in self-defense, killing him. Three police officers are reported to have been injured in the incident. Shinde was accompanied by a police escort team that included Police Inspector Sanjay Shinde and Assistant Police Inspector Nilesh More. Police sources said that PI Shinde had previously worked with former police officer and 'encounter specialist' Pradeep Sharma at the anti-extortion cell of the crime branch of Thane Police. He was also part of the special team that had arrested Iqbal Kaskar, brother of gangster Da-wood Ibrahim, under Sharma's leadership. His experience and expertise in handling high-priority cases led to his inclusion in the special investigation team (SIT) formed by the state government to probe the Badlapur rape case.