Maharashtra Government Vs Opposition Over Shooting Of Badlapur Rape Accused

"Earlier, the Opposition parties demanded that Akshay Shinde be hanged... Now, they are taking his side and questioning the integrity of Maharashtra police,' said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

The death of Akshay Shinde -- the man accused of raping two four-year-olds in Badlapur -- in police firing this evening is snowballing into a controversy ahead of the assembly elections in Maharashtra. Shinde was killed in retaliatory firing after he snatched the gun of a constable and opened fire on the police while being transferred from the Taloja jail to the Thane police station, the police said. The Opposition had questioned how a handcuffed man could snatch a gun, and alleged that it could have been an "encounter". 

"Earlier, the Opposition parties demanded that Akshay Shinde be hanged," said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. "Now, they are taking his side and questioning the integrity of Maharashtra police. Such act of the opposition leaders is condemnable and unfortunate," he added, explaining that the police shot him in self defence.

Asked about the Opposition's allegation that the accused was killed to gain political sympathy, Mr Shinde said these parties are rattled by the success of his government's Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme.