Badlapur sexual assault case: Bombay High Court orders expedited magisterial inquiry report by November 18 

Bombay High Court orders Magistrate to submit inquiry report on custodial death of Akshay Shinde by November 18.

The Bombay High Court on Thursday (October 3, 2024) directed the Magistrate to submit by November 18 an inquiry report into the custodial death of Akshay Shinde, the accused in the Badlapur school sexual assault case.

A Division Bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan gave this direction, and also ordered that all evidence related to the case be collected, preserved and checked by forensic experts.

The Bench also emphasised the police to include strong forensic evidence in its probe into the incident where the accused was killed in a police shoot-out. The law mandates that every custodial death has to be inquired into by a Magistrate.

Advocate General Birendra Saraf said all relevant documents have been forwarded to the Magistrate for inquiry. The court said the Magistrate shall commence the inquiry and hear all parties concerned.

"The report shall be placed before us on November 18. The Magistrate inquiry report is expedited," the High Court said. The court was hearing a plea filed by the accused's father seeking a court-monitored probe into the death. The State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is probing the case.

Shinde (24) was facing allegations of sexually assaulting two minor girls at a school in Badlapur, Thane district. He was being transported back to Badlapur from Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai when the shooting incident occurred on September 23, leading to his death.

The incident happened near Mumbra Bypass in Thane when he allegedly snatched the gun of a policeman while he was being ferried in a police vehicle as part of a probe into a case registered against him on the complaint of his estranged wife.