New SIT formed to probe Badlapur accused encounter case after SC order

The Director General of Maharashtra Police has formed a new special investigation team to probe the custodial death of Akshay Shinde, the accused in the Badlapur school sexual assault case, an official said on Thursday.

DGP Rashmi Shukla formed the SIT as per the Supreme Court's orders, he said.

The SIT will be headed by Datta Shinde, Additional Commissioner of Police attached to Mira-Bhayandar-Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police who is a deputy inspector general-rank official. It includes a deputy commissioner of police from Pimpri Chinchwad, an assistant commissioner of police, two senior inspectors -- one of them from Navi Mumbai, two assistant police inspectors, one sub inspector and an assistant sub-inspector. 

Besides the DCP and senior police inspector, all officers are from MBVV commissionerate, the official said. The SIT has taken in its possession all case-related documents from the Crime Investigation Department (CID) which was probing the case earlier, and started a fresh investigation, he said. Additional Commissioner of Police Datta Shinde has worked in Thane and Navi Mumbai and knows the area, the official said. He also has served as superintendent of police at Palghar.  Akshay Shinde (24), accused of sexually assaulting two kindergarten girls at a school at Badlapur in Thane district, was killed in police firing when he allegedly snatched a policeman's weapon and opened fire while being taken to the Badlapur police station from Taloja central prison on September 23, 2024.

Shinde's family moved the Bombay High Court claiming that it was a fake encounter. As the CID did not register a case against the police officials despite its orders, the Bombay High Court directed that an SIT headed by Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Lakhmi Gautam should probe the case. The Maharashtra government then moved the Supreme Court , which ordered the state DGP to constitute a new SIT. The order also stated that there was no need of registration of a new FIR as there was already a case registered at Mumbra Police Station, the official said.