New Delhi: The high-octane Bengal elections, already grabbing attention due to the record deployment of central forces, found a new controversy after the Election Commission deployed hardline IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma, known as Uttar Pradesh’s ‘Singham’, as observer in the sensitive South 24 Parganas. Sparks flew between the ruling TMC and the BJP after a video went viral showing the “encounter specialist” warning supporters of a TMC candidate, Jehangir Khan, for allegedly intimidating voters. It has generated considerable interest around the 2011-batch tough IPS officer.
Born in Punjab’s Ludhiana, Ajay Sharma is known for his tough and no-nonsense policing style. In fact, it is this “dabang” reputation that landed him in Bengal’s South 24 Parganas, a sensitive region considered a stronghold of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress. South 24 Parganas has a 36% Muslim population.
DENTIST TO ENCOUNTER SPECIALIST
Currently, Sharma is serving as Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) in Prayagraj. Regarded as one of the most dynamic police officers in Uttar Pradesh, he has led several high-risk operations during his postings in Shamli, Noida, Jaunpur, and Rampur. He is said to have carried out dozens of encounters as part of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s vision of a “crime-free” UP. It earned him the reputation of an “encounter specialist”.
However, what many don’t know is that before becoming a hardline IPS officer, Sharma was initially a dentist. His younger brother was a doctor.
Both brothers were academically brilliant. Thus, after being persuaded by their parents, the brothers began preparing for UPSC in 2008. Both got selected. While Sharma joined the police service, his brother became an IAS officer. Both are posted in Uttar Pradesh.
HOW AJAY PAL BECOME UP’S ‘SINGHAM’
He first grabbed attention in 2018 during his posting in Rampur. Sharma was hot on the trail of a man who raped and murdered a six-year-old girl. While trying to nab the accused, a brief encounter took place. The accused suffered three bullet injuries and was eventually caught. The incident brought Sharma significant recognition.
That year, he was among the several police officers felicitated by Adityanath. Sharma was then promoted to the SSP rank and transferred to Noida. Not just criminal gangs, the 41-year-old officer is known to keep a watch on his own force.
During his posting in Noida, Sharma received a tip-off of a purported bribe rate list among police officials. He decided to take matters into his own hands and conducted a surprise inspection.
One night, he donned plainclothes and hopped into an autorickshaw and went around the streets of Noida and Greater Noida, according to a report in The Print. He caught a sub-inspector red-handed and suspended him. There are several such stories in WhatsApp forwards among the UP police circles of Sharma.
In 2021, in an interview, Sharma claimed at least nine encounter deaths. He also claimed to have injured around 190 alleged criminals in other encounters, The Print reported.
He had then said there was “nothing to like about” the “encounter specialist” tag. “These encounters did not happen by will; it was just chance,” Sharma said.
CORRUPTION CHARGES
However, his career has not been spotless. Apart from complaints of staged encounters, there have also been allegations of corruption against Sharma.
An encounter in Shamli of an alleged criminal named Akbar saw the opposition raise questions in 2020. The Samajwadi Party had called it a “fake encounter”. Questions were also raised a year before, following the death of a suspected criminal named Sabbir and a police constable during an encounter.
Moreover, the Trinamool Congress claimed that Ajay Pal was booted out of Rampur in 2020, where he was SP, after he and five fellow IPS officers were found to be involved in a cash-for-postings racket. The FIR was lodged by a woman who accused him of marrying her and hiding his multiple affairs.
He was also previously booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act in Meerut for allegedly lobbying for his transfer and posting. However, the cases against Sharma have not progressed.
