Badlapur sexual assault: Lawyer Ujjwal Nikam explains why accused Akshay Shinde turned ‘violent’ and fired at police | Latest India News

The lawyer said the police have enough evidence against Akshay Shinde and two chargesheets have been filed against him in this case so far. The victims have also clearly identified the accused, Ujjwal Nikam claimed.

“The police had enough evidence that if the case had gone to trial, he would have been given the death penalty. When the accused knows that he has no chance of escaping, he can turn violent. So Akshay Shinde might be mentally depressed and that is why he might have attacked the police or tried to commit suicide,” Ujjwal Nikam told ANI.

He defended the police's actions against the accused, saying that they had only fired in revenge to “save” their lives and that two of their officers had been injured in the process. “The police had to fire in revenge and two police officers were injured in the process,” he added.

Opposition parties in Maharashtra strongly criticised the Mahayuti government and raised doubts about the circumstances that led to the encounter. In response, Nikam accused them of trying to influence the incident politically.

“Unfortunately, many politicians are making politics out of the incident. The truth will come out after the judicial inquiry… The trial will be held against the other accused in the Badlapur incident,” he said.

Relatives of the accused raise doubts

Akshay Shinde's family members denied the police's claim that they shot the accused in “self-defence”. They also alleged that the police had pressured Shinde to confess to the crime and give a statement.

“It is wrong to say that he first snatched the gun from a policeman and shot at him and later the police shot him in self-defence. The police have coerced him into confessing that he committed the crime. What they wrote from him, only he knows,” Shinde's mother and uncle told reporters outside the Kalwa hospital on Monday.

Shinde's father also claimed that his son was beaten in police custody and sent a demand for money. He also demanded an investigation into the “encounter”.

(With agency contributions)