Badlapur encounter: Victim’s parents pressured to withdraw SIT probe demand into sexual assault prior to shootout

Parents of one of the minor victims of the Badlapur POSCO case are under tremendous pressure as some vested interest people have been pressuring them to withdraw their complaint demanding a thorough probe by the Special Investigation Team SIT in the caseThe shootout incident of Monday that killed Akshay Shinde the accused in the POSCO case has left the parents further shaken claims Advocate Asim Sarode who with his two associates Advocate Shriya Awale and Advocate Ajinkya Gaikwad is fighting probono free case for the mother of the victim before the special court in KalyanThe advocates will now move an application in the Bombay High Court demanding a courtsupervised judicial probe into the shootout and subsequent killing of AkshayContentionsAdvocate Sarode said ldquoOur first contention is that the complainant victimrsquos mother while recording her complaint has narrated certain facts to the police which should have been noted down But we have found some discrepancies in the complaint registered by Badlapur police wherein the police have distorted the facts told by her Therefore we have decided to file a detailed affidavit in the case by making a written submission of her actual complaint to the courtrdquoPhone callsAdvocate Sarode claimed that the second contention is that the complainant received a phone call a few days ago The caller a male asked her to withdraw the separate complaint demanding a thorough SIT probe into the case A similar phone call was received by Advocate Sarode too but the call was from a police officer I did not pay much heed to the phone calls receivedrdquo However the Monday shootout incident and earlier phone calls have put tremendous stress on the complainantVictimsrsquo justice not priorityldquoThe Badlapur school management has its proximity to certain politicians and the image of the school was getting tarnished due to the public outcry and media attention The shootout only corroborates that the image and reputation of those in power and school were given priority over giving justice to the victim by adhering to due process of criminal justice trialrdquo said Advocate SarodeKilled the process of JusticeldquoI am not at all concerned with the death of the accused but I am unhappy disturbed and worried that the death of the accused has actually lsquokilled the process of Justicersquo said Advocate Sarode ldquoOur role in the entire case is limited to supporting the victim girls in the Special Court Kalyan and it is free legal service we are providing We too intended that the accused if guilty should be punished following the due process of law so that such heinous crime should become a deterrentrdquo said the advocatelsquoOpened Pandorarsquos boxrsquoldquoThe trial against the accused would have helped the society to identify the loopholes within the educational institutions and the undue advantage of which the accused had taken while committing such crimesrdquo said the advocate ldquoFurther investigation into the case would have surely led us to trace the role of the other accused in the case who are still absconding as per the police reports and further their role in the present matter would have been identified thereby opening the entire pandoras boxrsquo the advocate addedlsquoFalse storyrsquoldquoEverything prima facie is concocted and a false story hence we are demanding a courtsupervised judicial probe into the shootoutrdquo said Advocate Sarode When asked if he was also the advocate for Akshay Shinde Sarode replied in a negative clarifying that as a human rights advocate I have always condemned police custodial torture and extrajudicial killings This case too raises many doubtsFor instance ldquoShinde was an accused in two separate cases and the matter was before the City Civil and Sessions Court Kalyan as per my information both the judges were on leave on Monday in that case before whom Shinde would have been produced after police sought his transit remand and took his custody from Taloja prisonrdquoldquoIt is surprising that other policemen were mute spectators to the incident and did not bother to overpower Shinde before he could snatch the weapon and start firing the roundsrdquo Sarode askedldquoEncounter ideology is criminal ideology the supreme court has stated in PUCL vs Govt of Maharashtra case referenced 99 encounters and 135 deaths between 199599 Also in numerous other custodial death cases the apex court has made serious observationsrdquo said Advocate SarodeJustice destroyedldquoUnfortunately the death of the accused has destroyed the lawful process of justice Such extrajudicial encounters violate the victimrsquos right to seek justice and hence such acts should not be celebrated or looked upon as a way to deliver justicerdquo said Advocate Sarode ldquoWe will remain a nation of people with backward thoughts unless we realise that due process of law shall be prevailedrdquo concluded Advocate Sarode