Mumbai: The confirmation by a magisterial inquiry that Akshay Shinde, arrested in connection with the Badlapur school sexual assault case, was killed a fake encounter is yet another setback for the Maharashtra police. The report accused five policemen of murdering Shinde.

The school case had blown into a major controversy with the Shiv Sena (UBT) mobilising thousands of its followers for a rail roko at Badlapur and demanding the immediate hanging of Shinde. The Maha Yuti government was under tremendous pressure.

The police thought by eliminating Shinde in a fake encounter the controversy will attain closure. However, quite the opposite has happened with the magistrate picking huge holes in the police theory that they fired in "self defence" when Shinde allegedly snatched a service weapon. The magistrate has confirmed that the five policemen concerned were nothing more than criminals in uniform.

In the past the metropolis had witnessed a rash of "encounters" which resulted in the elimination of several alleged criminals. Encounter specialists like Vijay Salaskar, Pradeep Sharma and Daya Nayak were hailed as heroes. However, many of these encounters were used by the underworld dons to settle scores with rivals through the police.

The police force was earlier divided into gangs themselves with officers owing allegiance to Dawood Ibrahim and his arch rival Chhota Rajan eliminating criminals belonging to opposite camps. When the government realised that things were going out of control, they put their foot down and stopped all "encounters."

The police justified such encounters since the criminal justice system is slow and plodding. "By the time a murder trial starts, some of the witnesses would have died or lost their memory which vastly weakens the case," a police officer observed on condition of anonymity. Another officer said, "We are caught between a slow-moving judiciary and an incensed public which wants instant justice."

Noted criminal lawyer Mihir Desai said fake encounters have no place in a society based on rule of law. "If such encounters are resorted to then there is no need for the judiciary, presumption of innocence etc," he added. Another lawyer noted that the government had powers to put sensational crimes through special fast track courts. That way justice can be meted out expeditiously, he added.

Monday's order of the Bombay High Court in the Badlapur case is a major blow for the police and the latter need to come out with solutions for quick detection of serious crimes and the timely filing of chargesheets. They also need to put pressure on the government to fill up all judicial vacancies expeditiously.