‘If he is Singham, I am Pushpa’: The UP ‘encounter specialist’ in TMC’s line of fire
Ajay Pal Sharma, currently posted in Parayagraj, is one of the three police observers deployed in the TMC stronghold of South 24 Parganas ahead of Bengal polls Phase 2.
IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma has been deployed by the EC in the South 24 Parganas district as an observer. (Video screenshot, enhanced with AI) A day after conducting searches at the home of Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Jahangir Khan from Falta in South 24 Parganas district and issuing him a warning, Uttar Pradesh police officer Ajay Pal Sharma, known as an “encounter specialist”, was seen visiting the local TMC office on Tuesday with a huge contingent of Central forces, apart from conducting rounds in the area.
This came on a day when the TMC accused the officer of overstepping his limits and the Calcutta High Court refused to entertain the plea of a lawyer who alleged that Sharma had violated the Model Code of Conduct and “threatened” TMC candidates and voters. Sharma is among the 11 police observers the Election Commission (EC) has deployed in West Bengal to ensure peaceful polling in the second phase on April 29. The South 24 Parganas district, a TMC stronghold, has three observers, including Sharma, the most of any district.
After he took charge on Monday, Sharma, in a video shared widely, was seen conducting a search at Khan’s home following complaints of the TMC leader intimidating voters. “Listen carefully: if there is any mischief, the treatment will be such that crying later won’t help,” Sharma is heard saying in front of Khan’s home after failing to locate him.
“Jahangir’s family members are here. I am telling them — I hear his men are going around threatening people. Tell him that if this continues, I will take note of everything. I will take such action that even weeping won’t save him later,” the officer is heard saying.
On Tuesday, referring to the Bollywood movie, Singham, and Telugu action film Pushpa, Khan told reporters, “The police observer should inform the local SP if there is any problem. But he visited my home with Central forces. How can he do that? We only bow to people. We will not bow to him. This is Bengal; if he is ‘Singham’, I am ‘Pushpa’. No amount of threat or coercion by the BJP-appointed police officials from Uttar Pradesh will be allowed in Falta.”
West Bengal Cabinet Minister and TMC candidate from Dum Dum Uttar, Chandrima Bhattacharya, said, “He is being called an encounter specialist. Why is such a person sent here? He is barging into the home of our candidate and threatening him. There were only women at home then. According to the EC guidelines, a police observer will act as the eyes and ears. But what is he doing, threatening people? We register our protest. How can he be sent here?”
Controversies
The 40-year-old officer, who has earned the moniker “Singham (daredevil)” in UP, has been involved in several police shootings, most notably while serving as the SP of Shamli. Sharma was in Shamli when the BJP came to power in 2017. At present, he holds the rank of Deputy Inspector General (DIG).
“Uttar Pradesh’s notorious ‘Singham’ and Yogi Adityanath’s favourite ‘encounter specialist’, Ajay Pal, has been appointed as the police observer for South 24 Parganas by the Election Commission. This is the same officer infamous for his trigger-happy ‘thok do’ attitude. His track record is even darker. In January 2020, Ajay Pal was transferred out of Rampur, where he was serving as SP, to the Police Training Centre in Unnao after a damning report named him and five other IPS officers in a cash-for-postings scandal. The BJP government was compelled to constitute an SIT, which recommended a vigilance probe against him,” the TMC said in a post on X.
In a post on X, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav wrote on Monday, “BJP has sent their agents tested in Rampur and Sambhal, in the name of observers to West Bengal, but nothing will come of these. Didi is here, Didi will remain!”
Sharma hails from Punjab’s Ludhiana district and is currently posted in Prayagraj as Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order). Before joining UP Police, he completed his Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree.
Share
