As if the ongoing state assembly elections in West Bengal were not a matter of controversies, a fresh row has erupted over the Election Commission’s appointment of IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma, known as the ‘encounter specialist’ in Uttar Pradesh, as Superintendent of Police for South 24 Parganas district.
Sharma’s posting comes ahead of the second round of voting in West Bengal on Wednesday, April 29, which has led to a major rift between the incumbent Trinamool Congress and the BJP.
While the BJP and Election Commission of India said Sharma was deployed to ensure “free and fair voting” in the state, Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav also alleged that the BJP is trying to tilt the vote in their favor by “deploying agents” to intimidate voters.
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Who is Ajay Pal Sharma?
Ajay Pal Sharma is a 2011 batch IPS officer of UP cadre, currently working as Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) in Prayagraj.
Born in October 1985 in Ludhiana, Punjab, he is known for his strict police approach. Before becoming an IPS officer, Sharma was a dentist.
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Sharma’s role in several major security operations during his multiple postings in Uttar Pradesh earned him the reputation of an ‘encounter specialist’.
After Sharma’s post, BJP’s Amit Malviya referred to him as the ‘Singam’ of UP Police and shared a video of him warning supporters of TMC candidate Jehangir Khan against intimidating voters. The video is widely spread on social media.
“He wasted no time in setting the tone, reading the riots firmly to the family members of Abhishek Banerjee’s close aide, Jehangir Khan,” Malviya wrote on X.
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Meanwhile, TMC MP Mahua Moitra also did not shy away from throwing punches, sharing Sharma’s video and warning him to “step back from heroism a little”.
She also shared other videos of Sharma with dancers on her X account, clarifying that these clips are real and not produced by artificial intelligence.
In another post, Moitra tagged Sharma and wrote: “I hope your cop skills are better than your dancing skills.”
On the other hand, the West Bengal unit of the BJP supported Sharma’s statement that he “read the riots to the family members of Jahangir Khan, one of Bhaibu’s followers”.
She added: “No one can prevent this election from being the freest and fairest election in 50 years, and anyone who dares to act too intelligently will learn a lesson.”
