In a significant development today, the Maharashtra government informed the Bombay High Court that a First Information Report (FIR) will be filed by May 3 in the controversial Badlapur encounter case. This assurance came after the court expressed strong disapproval over the delay and warned of contempt proceedings against the Special Investigation Team (SIT) for not registering the FIR against five police officers implicated in the custodial death of Akshay Shinde.

Shinde, a 23-year-old janitor accused of sexually assaulting two minor girls at a school in Badlapur, was shot dead on September 23, 2024, while being transported in a police vehicle. The police claimed it was a retaliatory shooting, but a magistrate’s inquiry report found substance in allegations of a fake encounter.

The Bombay High Court had previously ordered the registration of an FIR and the formation of an SIT to investigate the incident. The state’s failure to comply with these orders led to today’s stern warning.

The SIT is now expected to review the 70 files transferred by the CID and proceed with the investigation accordingly.

Sources