Badlapur rape accused's mother says son killed as part of 'big conspiracy'

Speaking to India Today/Aajtak, Alka Shinde, the mother of the Badlapur rape accused, said that her son was killed as part of a "big conspiracy" and the family will not accept the body until there is an investigation into the entire incident.

In Short

• Family denies police version, demands investigation
• Mother of Badlapur accused claims son's death is a conspiracy
• Mother alleges police beat Akshay in custody

The mother of the Badlapur sexual assault case accused Akshay Shinde, who was shot dead by police on Monday evening, has refuted the claims made by the Maharashtra Police about the sequence of events that led to his death and said that he was killed as part of a "big conspiracy".

Speaking to India Today's sister channel Aajtak, Alka Shinde said, "Akshay Shinde's murder was a planned conspiracy. The police have killed my child. The school management must also be probed along with the police. We will not accept Akshay's body until there is an investigation and the culprits are punished."

Alka Shinde further added that Akshay told him, during a meeting, that he was being beaten up by police in custody.

Alok Shinde was killed near Mumbra Bypass around 6.15 pm on Monday, September 23, 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 on the complaint of his former wife.

After he shot and injured an official, another personnel from the escort team fired at him, and he was declared dead by doctors at Kalwa Civil Hospital.

Shinde's mother and uncle questioned the police version and asserted he could not have snatched the weapon of a policeman.

He was not depressed, they added.

"The police have killed our child. The school management must also be probed. The police got him to write something but we don't know what it is," the kin further alleged.

"My son was afraid of bursting crackers and crossing the road. How can he shoot at policemen," she asked.

Shinde was arrested on August 17 for sexually abusing two girls, aged four and five, in a school toilet five days earlier. The incident sparked massive outrage amid protests held in the area. Shinde worked as a cleaner at the school.

The local police were initially probing the case, but the Maharashtra government set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) following a public outcry over serious lapses in the police investigation. The SIT filed the chargesheet on Monday, September 16, against accused Akshay Shinde and members of the school management.