Badlapur sexual assault: Cop who shot Akshay Shinde worked with top ‘encounter specialist' Pradeep Sharma

Inspector Sanjay Shinde, who shot Badlapur rape accused worked under encounter specialist, played part in arrest of Dawood Ibrahim's brother Iqbal Kaskar.

Sanjay Shinde, police inspector who shot dead Badlapur sexual assault case accused Akshay Shinde, has reportedly worked with suspended former ‘encounter specialist’ Pradeep Sharma in the past.

Akshay Shinde, 24, was accused of sexually assaulting two minor girls at a school in Badlapur town of Thane district. A contractual sweeper at the school in Badlapur, Akshay Shinde was arrested on August 17, five days after he allegedly sexually abused the two girls in the school toilet.

Sanjay Shinde has previously worked with the anti-extortion cell of the Thane Police Crime Branch, then headed by suspended cop Pradeep Sharma, who was known as an 'encounter specialist'.

Pradeep Sharma was popular as an 'encounter specialist' in the Mumbai Police, credited with eliminating over 100 criminals during his career. Joining the police force in 1983, Sharma rose to fame in the 1990s for his involvement in high-profile encounters targeting members of the Mumbai underworld, particularly gangsters linked to the Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajan gangs.

Sharma was also the subject of a 2014 Marathi crime thriller named Rege. Veteran actor Mahesh Manjrekar had played Sharma's role in the movie. Author and journalist S Hussain Zaidi's 'The Class of 83' also delves into the encounters by Pradeep Sharma and other officers.

Akshay Shinde was arrested in August, five days after the children reported the assault to their parents. His shooting occurred yesterday when officers from Badlapur had gone to Taloja jail to take custody Akshay in a new rape and assault case filed by his first wife.

When the police team carrying Akshay neared the Mumbra bypass, he snatched the gun of a constable and fired at the cops escorting him. In retaliation, Sanjay Shinde fired at him. Akshay was critically injured in the firing and died at the hospital. However, his family has challenged the police claim of the events that led to his death in custody. They denied that he could fire at the cops, and alleged they had pressured him to confess his role in the rape case.