Mumbai: Encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma has once again made headlines. Sharma, who killed more than 100 people, has been sentenced to life imprisonment in the Lakhan Bhaiya encounter case. He has been in the news for his overall career ranging from encounter specialist to controversial police actions, social work, and politics.
Sharma, an encounter specialist who was a 1983 police sub-inspector batch officer, has killed over 100 criminals. Sharma was suspended from the department in August 2008 for his alleged links with Dawood Ibrahim. However, he was reinstated in May 2009 after the charges could not be proved. However, he was again arrested in 2010 for the fake encounter with gangster Lakhan Bhaiya in 2006. Sharma was acquitted by the court on July 5, 2013, in a trial in a sessions court.
Entry into politics
Sharma joined the police force nine years after he was acquitted of all charges. He resigned in 2019 while on duty as a senior police inspector in the Thane Crime Branch's anti-extortion squad. In the 2019 assembly elections, the Shiv Sena had fielded Sharma from Nalasopara to break the monopoly of the Hitendra Thakur family in the Vasai-Virar area. However, he was defeated.
Arrested again in Hiren murder case
Sharma has already ventured into social work in the Andheri East area through the PS Foundation. Sharma was arrested by the NIA in 2021 in connection with the murder of Mansukh Hiran and a car containing explosives found in front of Antilia while he was strengthening his hold in the constituency. His troubles were compounded when the Income Tax department raided his house in February while he was preparing for another election after coming out on bail.