Thane: Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said that the police shot Akshay Shinde in self-defence, the man accused of sexually assaulting two small girls in Badlapur last month. The chief minister’s remarks came just hours after the Bombay High Court raised serious questions over the custodial death of the accused,

Aaditya Thackeray remarked that a "Shinde" was killed to protect an "Apte," suggesting deeper issues of injustice under the current regime.

Akshay Shinde, accused of sexually abusing two nursery school girls in Maharashtra's Badlapur, was shot dead by police after allegedly seizing a constable's gun and firing at officers during his transfer from Taloja jail.