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Leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), Sanjay Raut, spoke out on Wednesday against the police encounter of Akshay Shinde, the accused in a sexual assault case in Badlapur. He alleged that the State Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister orchestrated the encounter to protect the BJP and RSS affiliates associated with the same institution as the accused.
The UBT leader also accused the Maharashtra government of attempting to leverage the police encounter for their political gain, claiming that the CM and his Deputy are engaged in a race to take credit for the situation. "Rapists should be taught a tough lesson. And these fast-track courts should not get into such cases. There should be immediate justice", Raut said. However, he added, "If you encounter such people for your own political gain, then it is wrong." He also noted, "There is a race to take credit for encounters. I am Singham or you are Singham. This competition makes it clear how big politics is going on," Raut said while criticising the competition surrounding the police encounters and accusing the CM Eknath Shinde and his Deputy Devendra Fadnavis of 'fighting' to take credit for the encounter. He then mounted another scathing attack on Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, alleging, "In his assembly constituency, till now in one year, more than a hundred women have been tortured, raped, and murdered. How many people were encountered?" He further added, "Yesterday in Nalasopara, there was a Bharatiya Janata Party official who was arrested in the communal rape case." Raut questioned the inconsistency in the government's response to crimes against women. He said, " Will Devendra Fadnavis 'Singham', will Shinde Singh 'Singham' encounter them? Then why only one encounter? Whoever has raped or tortured women, encounter all of them. Do it, we will support you." He suggested that there may be more to the case than meets the eye, alleging a connection between the encounters and political affiliations. The UBT leader said, "You grab hold of one case because there is a deeper secret, and the secret is now in court. A person has filed a petition, and the owners of the organisation, the educational institutes where it happened, are related to BJP and RSS. To save them, you did that encounter, and now the public will know about it." Raut then continued slamming the Maharashtra government's handling of sexual violence cases. "innumerable rapes in the rainy season have caused atrocities on women", he said. He also expressed concerns over the government's motives, suggesting that the true nature of the cases might be hidden from the public. Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court too had expressed concerns regarding Akshay Shinde's police encounter. The Court said,"It is difficult to believe this. Prima facie there seem to be issues." Justice Chavan pointed out that "a common man can't fire a pistol because it needs strength. A revolver can't be unlocked quickly by a physically weak man." Accused's father, Anna Shinde, has filed a petition demanding a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe, claiming that his son was killed in a fake encounter. The court has directed that all case papers be handed over to the state CID for investigation, questioning why they had not yet been transferred. The court also set October 3 as the next hearing date. Akshay Shinde, 23, was arrested on August 17 after allegedly sexually abusing two girls in a school toilet. According to police reports, he opened fire on police while being transported from jail, resulting in his death. This incident has ignited a controversy between the ruling Mahayuti government and the opposition, especially as Maharashtra heads toward Assembly polls later this year. (ANI)
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