Mumbai/IBNS: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday refused to accept police's "encounter" claim after the man accused of sexually assaulting two nursery students in Badlapur near Mumbai was shot dead in a retaliatory firing when he attacked a cop inside a police vehicle on Monday evening.

After the court said police could have shot the accused somewhere below his knee, the state government replied the cop had hardly any time to think.

In response, the High Court said as quoted by NDTV, " How could we believe that the police could not overpower the accused?"

"Till he fired three shots, where were you? You could have easily overpowered (him). It is not like he was a hefty man. This can't be termed as an encounter. This is not an encounter," the court added.

According to reports, the rape accused Akshay Shinde had snatched the weapon from a constable and opened fire on one of the officers, injuring him.

The officers from Badlapur had gone to Taloja jail to take custody of Shindefor questioning him in connection with a new case filed by his first wife. The woman, who left him five days after their wedding, has accused him of rape and assault.

Around 6:30 pm, when the police team reached the Mumbra bypass, Shinde snatched the gun from a constable and fired several rounds, injuring him. In retaliation, another officer shot Shinde, leaving him critically injured.

He was taken to the hospital where he died.

Akshay Shinde, 23, was appointed on a contractual basis to clean school washrooms on August 1. Within days of his appointment, he allegedly raped the four-year-olds in the school's washroom.

He was arrested on August 17, five days after the children reported the assault to their parents.

The incident occurred in the wake of the horrific rape-murder of a junior doctor at a Kolkata hospital and triggered massive protests in the town of Thane.

The Bombay High Court, which had taken up the case on its own, had slammed the police investigation, especially pointing to its deviation from rules in the questioning of the children.

"The mandate of the law is not followed by Badlapur police," the judges had said earlier.