Two days after the accused in the Badlapur sex assault case was shot dead after he snatched a cop's gun, hoardings congratulating Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have come up in various locations in Mumbai. The hoardings use a wordplay — Badla Pura (revenge complete) — and show Mr Fadnavis holding a gun. These hoardings do not carry any organisation's name.
The ruling parties have amped up their political messaging after the accused was shot dead. The BJP has put up posters, claiming that police would only extort money during the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress regime in Maharashtra, but now cops protect the people. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has issued newspaper ads, describing the Chief Minister as "Dharamvir" and accusing rivals of politicising a sensitive issue like rape. The newspaper ad also has a cop's cap.
The Badlapur sex assault case and the accused's death come ahead of crucial state polls in Maharashtra and has emerged as a key talking point in the run-up to the election. The ruling coalition of BJP, Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP, which suffered a setback in the Lok Sabha election in June, are looking to turn the tables in the state polls. The Badlapur case had put the ruling bloc on the backfoot as the Opposition questioned the state's law and order situation. Following the accused's death, the ruling bloc will be looking to seize the narrative. The ruling parties have slammed the Opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi after some of its leaders raised questions about the accused's death in custody and alleged that it was carried out to shield the real accused in the sex assault case.
Akshay Shinde (24) was accused of sexually assaulting two minor girls at a school in Badlapur where he worked as a sweeper. Police have said he was being taken from Taloja Jail to Badlapur on Monday when he snatched a policeman's pistol and opened fire. An assistant inspector was injured and Shinde was killed in retaliatory firing, police have said.
Shinde's father Anna Shinde has approached the Bombay High Court, alleging that his son was killed in a "fake encounter". The family has alleged that Shinde was killed as part of a conspiracy by police and management of the school.
"We want justice. The family would have accepted the verdict delivered by the court after a trial, but we are poor people; we don't have a voice," Anna Shinde told news agency PTI.
The Opposition, too, has raised questions about the police's version.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the police's version was suspicious, but there was no need to show sympathy for Shinde.
"….This murder or encounter was done to save the main accused. How convincing is it that a school janitor snatches a gun from a policeman and fires a locked weapon? This is the basic question," he said. The Rajya Sabha MP alleged, "The school is linked to BJP and yesterday's story (Akshay's killing) was done to save them."
NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule wondered how the accused, who was handcuffed, could snatch a pistol from a policeman in a moving vehicle. "A policeman suffered a bullet injury. Even the police are not safe in Maharashtra. If there is CCTV footage of the incident, it should be made public," she said, according to a PTI report.
Chief Minister Shinde and Home Minister Fadnavis have stressed that police had fired in self-defence.
The ruling Sena has slammed the Opposition, accusing them of questioning the bravery of police officers. Sena spokesperson and MP Naresh Mhaske said, "It is unfortunate to question the bravery of our police when they acted in self-defence."