Pradeep Sharma: Encounter specialist's brush with controversies

Pradeep Sharma joined the Mumbai Police force on January 21, 1983, and was posted at Mahim Police Station.

Pradeep Sharma, the former Mumbai Police officer and an “encounter specialist”, was on Thursday being searched by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the Antilia explosives scare case. A team of the NIA reached the Andheri residence of Pradeep Sharma early on Thursday to conduct the search. Before this, Pradeep Sharma was questioned for hours by the federal agency in April.

Pradeep Sharma, who worked with the police for 25 years, is said to have gunned down more than 100 underworld gangsters. (File Photo)

Who is Pradeep Sharma?

Pradeep Sharma, who worked with Mumbai Police for 25 years, is said to have gunned down more than 100 underworld gangsters. Sharma joined the Mumbai Police force on January 21, 1983, and was posted at Mahim Police Station. Sharma was noticed for his skill of gathering intelligence and transferred to the crime branch to eliminate the dreaded Mumbai underworld, which gained notoriety in the late 1980s and 90s. He was involved in encounters involving several gangsters, including Parvez Siddiqui, Rafiq Dabbawala, Sadik Kalia and three Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) suspects.

Also watch | From shooting gangsters to facing jail, Pradeep Sharma's story

His fall

Sharma was, however, ousted from the police force for allegedly being in touch with the underworld and after his name cropped up in the fake encounter case of Ramnarayan Gupta alias Lakkhan Bhaiyya in 2006. Pradeep Sharma, who has inspired many Bollywood films, was dismissed from service in August 2008.

Sharma was arrested for his involvement in the case in 2010 but was acquitted of all charges by a Mumbai court in July 2013 but 13 other policemen were found guilty. Vinayak Shinde, one of the policemen, has been arrested by NIA in connection with the Antilia explosives scare case.

The government invoked Section 311 of the Constitution against him, following several months of departmental action, including departmental inquiries, suspension for prolonged periods, and even a transfer to a remote district in Maharashtra, which Sharma refused to take up citing health grounds.

The police officer challenged this and his dismissal was revoked. Pradeep Sharma was reinstated in 2017 and was then made the head of the anti-extortion cell of the Thane Police. Sharma arrested Iqbal Kaskar, fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s younger brother, within a month of taking charge.

Foray into politics

In 2019, amid speculation he will join politics just before the Maharashtra assembly elections, Pradeep Sharma resigned from the force but he told HT he had no such plans and that he was resigning for personal reasons. He contested from Nallasopra as the Shiv Sena candidate but lost to Kshitij Thakur of the Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi by more than 40,000 votes.

In 2019, just before the Maharashtra assembly elections, Pradeep Sharma resigned from the force and told HT he was resigning for personal reasons. He contested from Nallasopra as the Shiv Sena candidate but lost to Kshitij Thakur of the Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi by more than 40,000 votes.