Mira Bhayandar: The Mira Road police are on the lookout for a 41-year-old caretaker who brutally assaulted a 78-year-old senior citizen at his apartment in Mira Road in an inebriated state.

The senior citizen-Chandrakant Shinde and his 74-year-old wife Madhuri stay in the Hatkesh area of Mira Road. Shinde who has retired from the Indian Railways is bedridden since he suffered a paralytic stroke on 11, July.

To take care of his bedridden father, his son who lives in Pen had hired the caretaker identified as- Babula Raghunath Naahak (41) through Prakash Nursing Home Bureau-an agency operating from the Marve Road area in Malad (west). Naahak joined work on 24, August.

The incident was reported at around 11 pm on 27, September when Shinde was alone in the house. Naahak, who was in a highly inebriated state, started tossing the chairs and other household furniture. Irate over being stopped, Naahak mounted a violent attack on Shinde by climbing over him and raining blows on his face, chest and legs.

Before fleeing the spot, he also threatened Shinde of killing his wife if he revealed about the incident to anybody. Upon returning, Shinde’s wife was shocked to find him in a badly injured state. She immediately informed one of their neighbours who called their family doctor.

After first aid treatment, Shinde who suffered multiple injuries all over his body was admitted to a nearby hospital. The chest CT scan reports detected rib fractures which according to doctors may need surgical stabilization.

It has been alleged that the police took their own sweet time to register an offence apparently due to jurisdictional confusion in such a sensitive and horrific crime against a bedridden senior citizen.

“Since the senior citizen had been brutally assaulted, we were waiting for the medical reports so that appropriate and stringent sections of the BNS could be inked in the FIR. We immediately summoned the operator of the nursing agency and questioned him about the accused. We have launched a man hunt and the accused will be behind the bars soon.” clarified senior police inspector of the Mira Road police station- Chandrakant Sarode.

Meanwhile an offence under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS ) for voluntarily causing grievous hurt and criminal intimidation was registered on 28, September against the accused who is said to be a resident of Borivali, but is now absconding.

The incident also raises a serious question mark on the operations of manpower supply agencies who recruit personnel without due care of verifying their antecedents. In this particular case, the accused would regularly come to the house in a drunken stupor, abuse and assault the elderly couple who were forced to endure the ordeal owing to their age and feeble state.

Pune: In a shocking incident in Baramati on Monday, a grade 12th student was brutally murdered by his classmate on the campus of Tuljaram Chaturchand College. Both the victim and accused were minor and the police have arrested the suspect, reports say.

The incident took place on Monday morning around 11.30 am after a heated argument between the two classmates. In the rage of anger one of them attacked another by a sharp weapon (koyta) after which the victim was taken to a nearby hospital. However, he was declared dead on arrival by the doctors. Police soon reached the spot and arrested the attackers, reports say, adding that one more classmate was involved in the attack.

The incident has sent shockwaves across Maharashtra. MP from Baramati and NCP (SP) Supriya Sule slammed the government for the crippling law and order in the state amid rising crimes. “A youth was killed in a broad daylight in the Baramati college is shocking and unfortunate. The law order is deteriorating day by day and criminals have are left with no fear,” Sule posted on X.

She added that, the incidents of people roaming around with a sword, koyta or pistols have increased. The Gundaraj in Maharashtra has because of failure of Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis, taking our state years back,” the NCP (SP) added.

Further investigation in case is underway.

Mumbai: The death of Akshay Shinde, man accused of sexual assault of two minors, while in police custody has triggered a political controversy in Maharashtra. Shinde, who had been working as a sweeper at a Badlapur school, was accused of sexually assaulting two minor students. His death occurred near the Mumbra Bypass while he was being transferred from Taloja jail to Badlapur for further investigation on September 23.

The Maharashtra government claims police acted in self-defence, but Shinde’s family alleges foul play, calling it an ‘encounter’ and demanding justice. Meanwhile, opposition parties are calling for a judicial probe.

Allegations By Akshay Shinde’s Family

Following the incident, Shinde’s body was taken to JJ Hospital for a post-mortem. Outside the hospital, his mother and uncle voiced their suspicions, claiming that the police had beaten him in custody and coerced him into writing something unknown. “They killed him,” his grieving mother reportedly said while speaking to the reporters.

They questioned how he could have snatched a policeman’s gun and opened fire, stating that Shinde, who feared simple things like bursting crackers and crossing roads, could not have committed such an act. His mother also revealed that he had sent a chit asking for money, adding to their belief that something was amiss.

Thane police commissioner Ashutosh Dumbre has established an eight-member inquiry committee to investigate the incident. The panel, led by Additional Police Commissioner Punjabrao Ugle, includes several deputy and assistant commissioners of police, as well as police inspectors. The inquiry will examine the circumstances leading to Shinde’s death, with a focus on the police’s claim of self-defence.

What Exactly Happened?

According to the police version, Shinde allegedly grabbed a policeman’s gun while being transported and shot at an assistant police inspector. In response, another officer fired at him, resulting in Shinde’s death at Kalwa civil hospital. The police had been transporting him as part of a probe related to allegations made by his ex-wife, who had accused him of sexual violence.

Family Terms Death As ‘Planned Encounter’

Shinde’s family, however, maintains that his death was a planned encounter. His mother insisted that her son was innocent and incapable of the violence described by the police, adding, “He didn’t even know how to drive a car, how could he fire such a big gun?” She demanded that those responsible for his death be punished.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis have supported the police’s account, stating that officers acted in self-defence after Shinde fired at them. Fadnavis, who also holds the home ministry portfolio, dismissed opposition criticism, stating that it was wrong to question the police when they were trying to save lives.