The Bombay High Court on Tuesday convicted and sentenced former policeman Pradeep Sharma to life imprisonment in connection with the fake encounter of Ramnarayan Gupta, an alleged close aide of gangster Chhota Rajan in 2006, in Mumbai.er Case: Ex-Mumbai Cop Asked to Surrender in 3 Weeks by Bombay High Court. Along with being convicted, the High Court has also sentenced Pradeep Sharma to life imprisonment and asked him to surrender within 3 weeks.
Bhaiya was shot in the Versova area of Mumbai. The encounter was led by former encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma. The bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Gauri Godse had reserved their judgement in the case on November 8, 2023. Bhaiya's brother, Ram Prasad Gupta, who is an advocate, had filed an appeal against Sharma's acquittal. Both the Maharashtra government and Lakhan Bhaiya's brother challenged Sharma's acquittal.
While the accused filed appeals in the high court challenging their conviction, the prosecution and the victim's brother Ramprasad Gupta filed an appeal against Sharm's acquittal. Special public prosecutor Rajiv Chavan had argued that in the present case, officers who were custodians of law and order were themselves involved in a stage-managed cold-blooded murder. The prosecution seeking Sharma's conviction in the case had argued that the former policeman was the main conspirator and chief of the entire operation of abduction and murder.