Who is encounter specialist Ajay Sharma? UP’s ‘Singham' in Bengal for polls
Ajay Sharma, considered a dynamic and aggressive officer. Sharma has served in multiple districts, including Shamli, Noida, Jaunpur, and Rampur.
by Zee Media Bureau · Zee NewsA fresh controversy has erupted in the ongoing West Bengal Assembly elections with the Election Commission’s decision to deploy Uttar Pradesh IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma, popularly known as the state’s ‘encounter specialist,’ as Police Observer for South 24 Parganas district.
Sharma’s appointment, just ahead of the second phase of polling on April 29, has triggered a sharp row between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Election Commission and the BJP have defended the move, stating that Sharma has been deployed to ensure free and fair voting in the sensitive district.
However, the Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav have strongly objected, accusing the BJP of trying to influence the polls by “deploying agents” to intimidate voters.
Who is encounter specialist Ajay Sharma?
Ajay Pal Sharma, a 2011-batch IPS officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre, is currently posted as Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) in Prayagraj.
Born in Ludhiana, Punjab, Sharma is known for his tough, no-nonsense policing style and has earned a reputation as one of Uttar Pradesh’s most prominent “encounter specialists”.
He is considered a dynamic and aggressive officer. Sharma has served in multiple districts, including Shamli, Noida, Jaunpur, and Rampur.
He has been closely associated with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s “crime-free UP” initiative and is said to have carried out dozens of encounters.
In a 2021 interview, he claimed to have been involved in at least nine encounter deaths and injuring around 190 alleged criminals.
His deployment as Police Observer for South 24 Parganas, a Trinamool Congress stronghold with a 36% Muslim population, ahead of the second phase of West Bengal Assembly elections, has triggered a major political controversy.
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya praised Sharma, calling him the ‘Singham’ of UP Police in an X post he shared a widely circulated video in which Sharma warns supporters of TMC candidate Jehangir Khan, who is considered a close aide of Abhishek Banerjee, against intimidating voters.
Malviya wrote that Sharma “wasted no time in setting the tone” by firmly reading the riot act to Jehangir Khan’s family members.
In response, TMC MP Mahua Moitra hit back sharply. She shared a video along with other clips on X, of Sharma dancing and sarcastically commented, “Hope your policing skills are better than your dancing skills,” while asking him to “dial back the heroism a bit.”
The BJP’s West Bengal unit defended Sharma, stating that he had simply “read the riot act to Bhaipo’s henchman Jehangir Khan’s family members.”