The shocking encounter shootout that took place in Thane district on Monday has created ripples not just in the state of Maharashtra but all over India. An accused in a child sexual assault case which happened in Badlapur city of Thane district barely 50km from Mumbai was shot by the police “in self-defence” when during transit, he apparently snatched the service weapon of a police officer and tried to shoot at the cops. What is seen now, in social media and society in general, is extreme political polarisation over the incident with Opposition party leaders claiming that the incident was highly suspicious and alleging that perhaps the shooting was a setup, while the ruling party leaders are seen claiming that police did this purely in their defence. This issue and endless arguments from both sides have now resulted in this becoming a big political issue in the state.
Originally the incident that happened in a school in Thane created huge rage in Badlapur some weeks ago. Angry mobs blocked railway tracks for hours. There were alleged delays in filing the First Information Report but later the police swung into action and arrested the accused Akshay Shinde. The public kept demanding that the accused should be hanged and this gave the incident a political colour. Realising the severity of public rage the government announced that this case will be processed in a fast-track court. With media glare, and Opposition political parties levelling allegations, the case became very high-profile and allegations from both sides flew non-stop. Now against this backdrop Monday’s incident has become the biggest issue in the state.
While many Opposition leaders such as Congress state president Nana Patole and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar expressed doubts over the way the encounter was carried out, the question many are asking now is whether the masses are now showing support to this kind of extreme action of police encounter because on Monday night some section of the masses in Thane actually burst firecrackers and “celebrated” the shooting of the accused Akshay Shinde. This has given the ruling party leaders a shot in the arm and while they keep saying that a high-level or judicial enquiry will take place into the encounter shooting, they also have come out in support of the police officers who were involved in the action. The highest level of polarisation is now seen between groups of politicians and masses over the encounter shooting, which is evident on social media and comments in the media coming from leaders too.
Encounter shooting incidents carried out by the police are not new in Maharashtra. In the late 1990s when underworld gangs started demanding ransom money from big businessmen, real estate developers and Hindi film industry personalities, it created a negative impression about Maharashtra and investments started slowing down. At that point the police force adopted the model of encounter shootouts which was broadly based on the actions of the Punjab police in the 1980s. Dozens of underworld gangsters were eliminated in shootouts by police officers every couple of months and encounters became a weekly event in Mumbai and surrounding areas. It is interesting to note that the Hindi film industry, which was previously a victim of threats from the underworld, started celebrating and depicting the “encounter specialist officers” of the police force as heroes! Somewhere this is the root of the public sentiment that one sees in reaction to any encounters that take place. There seems to be an impression in the middle class in Maharashtra that some criminals must be eliminated without waiting for the lengthy justice process to reach its logical conclusion. Politicians are smart to sense this sentiment among the public; this is the reason one sees the politicians from the ruling side and leaders such as Member of Parliament Naresh Mhaske openly praising the police officers involved in Monday’s encounter shootout.
The official enquiry into the encounter shootout will happen according to the set process of law and findings will be made public, but that is going to take a lot of time because of several limitations. Some politicians as well as retired police officers are now raising questions about how the accused Akshay Shinde was able to snatch the gun from an officer sitting next to him in a vehicle. Were the cops not alert to stop him from doing so? But the fact of the matter is that the issue is now already over-politicised and in such a case it is likely to be used in the upcoming campaign of the Assembly polls. Like many other issues this too will see polarisation of opinions and heated debates from those who are expressing doubts, raising questions and those who support extreme actions against hardened criminals.
Rohit Chandavarkar is a senior journalist who has worked for 31 years with various leading newspaper brands and television channels in Mumbai and Pune
