Thane, 24 Sept

 The Thane police have registered a case of attempt to murder against Badlapur sexual assault crime accused Akshay Shinde, after he allegedly opened fire at cops, and also filed a case of his accidental death, officials said on Tuesday.

Shinde was being taken to Badlapur in Maharashtra's Thane district from Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai on Monday evening in connection with an FIR registered against him on the complaint of his former wife when the firing incident took place, which resulted in his death, police earlier said.

Shinde, 24, was accused of sexually assaulting two minor girls at a school in Badlapur.

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.

He was killed near Mumbra bypass in Thane on Monday evening when he allegedly snatched the gun of a policeman while he was 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 earlier said.

After he shot and injured API Nilesh More, another officer from the police escort team fired at him, and he was declared dead by doctors at the Kalwa civic hospital, the official said.

Following the incident, a case of attempt to murder against Shinde as well as a case of his accidental death have been registered at the Mumbra police station, a Thane police official told reporters.

He said Shinde tried a fatally attack police personnel by snatching a pistol.

As Shinde died in police action, another case of accidental death has also been registered, the official said.

Both the cases are being investigated by the Thane police, he added.

Shinde, who was lodged at the Taloja jail in connection with the case of sexual assault with two minor girls, was being taken to Badlapur for an investigation into another sexual assault case filed on the complaint of his former wife, the official said.

A special team was formed by the Thane Police to investigate the case.

Officials of the special team had sought a transfer warrant from the court. Based on it, he was being brought to Badlapur for transfer in the new case, he added.

After Shinde was shot dead, some locals in Badlapur distributed sweets and burst firecrackers.

They also displayed banners with messages like "rapists will not be spared".

Meanwhile, a forensic experts team examined the incident spot on Tuesday and were collecting evidence for investigation, officials said.

The team collected the used pellets and also blood samples from the spot, they said.

Maharashtra's Crime Investigation Department (CID) will conduct a probe into the death of Shinde, officials said earlier in the day.

Shinde's body was taken from the Kalwa civic hospital in Thane to the state-run J J Hospital in Mumbai for post-mortem.

The post-mortem will be conducted in-camera in the presence of expert doctors, an official said.

The body was brought to the J J Hospital by Mumbra police at 11.10 am and inquest was done by the Judicial Magistrate FC, Thane, doctors from the hospital said.-PTI