Pradeep Sharma, Mumbai’s encounter specialist cop, resigns

Speaking with HT, Pradeep Sharma denied speculation that he may contest the upcoming assembly elections in the state.

Encounter specialist and senior police inspector Pradeep Sharma resigned from the Maharashtra police force. He was posted in the anti-extortion cell of the Thane crime branch.

Senior police inspector Pradeep Sharma. (Praful Gangurde / HT File Photo)

Even as speculation is rife that he may contest the upcoming Assembly elections, Sharma told HT he had no such plans and that he was resigning for personal reasons.

Sharma joined the Mumbai police force on January 21, 1983 and was posted at Mahim police station. Noticing his skill of gathering intelligence through human resources, Sharma was transferred to the crime branch to eliminate the dreaded Mumbai underworld, which had gained notoriety in the late 1980s and 90s. He was involved in 112 encounters involving several gangsters, including Parvez Siddiqui, Rafiq Dabbawala, Sadik Kalia and threeLashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) suspects.

His name cropped up in the fake encounter case of Ramnarayan Gupta alias Lakkhan Bhaiyya. Sharma was dismissed, after the Mumbai police invoked section 311 of the CrPC, which the police officer challenged and his dismissal was revoked. He was also acquitted by the court.

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