Maha witnessed 34 deaths during police encounters from 2017 to 2022

The Maharashtra police have registered 34 cases of deaths during police encounters between April 1, 2017 and March 10, 2022, according to information shared in the Rajya Sabha (RS) by the then minister of state home affairs, Nityanand Rai. According to senior officers, most of these encounters took place in Gadchiroli where the menace of Maoism continues to be tackled by the state forces.

Separately, Rai informed in the Lok Sabha (LS) in August last year that 80 custodial deaths were reported from Maharashtra between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2023.

Deaths due to police encounters have come to the fore once again after the rape accused in the Badlapur case was allegedly shot dead during a police encounter in Thane.

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

Shinde was killed near the Mumbra Bypass in Thane on Monday evening when he allegedly snatched the gun of a policeman while being ferried in a police vehicle as part of a probe into a case registered against him on the complaint of his former wife, an official said earlier.

After Shinde shot and injured an assistant police inspector, another officer from the police escort team fired at him, and he was declared dead by doctors at Kalwa civic hospital, the official said. Shinde was being transported to Badlapur from Taloja jail for investigation. In the firing, Sanjay Shinde and assistant police inspector Nilesh More were injured.

While criticising the procedure of keeping the hands of the accused free, Praveen Dixit, retired IPS officer as DGP Maharashtra, said, “Yes, as per the court directive, we cannot tie the hands of the accused during court procedures. But I think, due to keeping their hands free, the accused get a chance to attack the police force.’’

Dixit suggested that in such serious cases, courts should conduct online hearing instead of physical hearing. Judges should also avail the benefit of visiting prisons and conducting hearings in prisons. “We are in the tech era; why should we not get the benefits of technology? This will not only save the time of the judicial system but also reduce pressure on the police force to arrange transportation of the criminals,’’ Dixit said.

According to data provided by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and cited by Rai in the RS, the state recorded 34 cases of encounter deaths in the said six years. Data further stated that out of these 34 cases, a total 24 cases were disposed of and 10 were pending as on March 23, 2022.

On the number of police personnel against whom action has been taken for false cases of police encounters, Rai said in the RS that from April 1, 2016 to March 10, 2022, only one disciplinary action regarding ‘deaths in police encounters’ was taken in the state of Assam. No disciplinary action was taken in Maharashtra.

Rai further said that during the same period, India witnessed 107 cases of deaths in police encounters with the NHRC recommending compensation of ₹71,650,000.”

Dixit said that out of the 34, a majority of the cases have been reported from Naxalite areas as there have been frequent skirmishes between the police and Naxalites.

“The majority of cases reported are from the Naxalite areas as Naxalites are equipped with modern guns and have attacked the police force. In retaliation, the police used to fire some rounds on them in order to save themselves from deadly attack,’’ said Dixit.