# Pradeep Sharma
**Pradeep Sharma** is a former officer of the Mumbai Police who became known as an "encounter specialist", one of a group of officers credited with gunning down large numbers of underworld gangsters in police shootouts in Mumbai during the 1990s and early 2000s. Reports place the number of people killed in encounters attributed to him between 105 and 113. His career included dismissal from the force in 2008 for alleged underworld links, two reinstatements, an acquittal in a fake encounter case that the [Bombay High Court](https://www.edgepedia.org/bombay-high-court) later overturned with a life sentence, and arrest by the [National Investigation Agency](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-investigation-agency) (NIA) in the Antilia explosives scare and Mansukh Hiran murder case.[1](https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/pradeep-sharma-encounter-specialist-s-brush-with-controversies-101623908265633.html) • [2](https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-why-encounter-specialist-pradeep-sharma-has-been-summoned-by-nia-7262881/lite/) • [18](https://newsonair.gov.in/bombay-high-court-sentences-former-mumbai-police-officer-to-life-imprisonment-in-fake-encounter-case/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Police service | Joined the Mumbai Police on January 21, 1983, posted at Mahim Police Station; worked with the police for 25 years[1](https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/pradeep-sharma-encounter-specialist-s-brush-with-controversies-101623908265633.html) |
| Encounter count | Reports credit him with 105, 112, or 113 encounter killings, with figures varying by source and year[3](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/a-look-at-police-career-of-pradeep-sharma-who-killed-105-people-in-encounters/articleshow/20937550.cms) • [4](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/who-is-pradeep-sharma-ex-mumbai-cop-who-killed-112-gangsters-101710844368766.html) • [5](https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/pradeep-sharma-from-dhule-teacher-s-son-to-113-encounters/story-cBzx6h3tHaGjGUQJ8KWUOP_amp.html) |
| Dismissal | Dismissed in August 2008 under Article 311 of the Constitution after Intelligence Bureau-tapped telephone conversations with Dawood Ibrahim's henchman Chhota Shakeel[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-why-encounter-specialist-pradeep-sharma-has-been-summoned-by-nia-7262881/lite/) |
| Reinstatement | The Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal ordered his reinstatement with back wages in May 2009; he was reinstated again in 2017[6](https://www.indiatoday.in/latest-headlines/story/encounter-specialist-pradeep-sharma-reinstated-46807-2009-05-06) • [7](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/former-cop-pradeep-sharma-nia-arrest-mansukh-hiran-murder-case-7363912/) |
| Lakhan Bhaiyya case | Arrested in 2010 for the 2006 fake encounter killing of Ramnarayan Gupta alias Lakhan Bhaiyya; acquitted by the trial court in 2013 while 13 other officers were convicted; the Bombay High Court later overturned his acquittal and sentenced him to life imprisonment[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/former-cop-pradeep-sharma-nia-arrest-mansukh-hiran-murder-case-7363912/) • [4](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/who-is-pradeep-sharma-ex-mumbai-cop-who-killed-112-gangsters-101710844368766.html) • [8](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/i-t-raid-pradeep-sharmas-luck-runs-out-fake-encounter-case-9223156/) |
| NIA arrest | Arrested by the NIA in June 2021 in the Mansukh Hiran murder case, linked to the Antilia bomb scare at Mukesh Ambani's residence[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/former-cop-pradeep-sharma-nia-arrest-mansukh-hiran-murder-case-7363912/) |
| Politics | Contested the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly election from Nalasopara on a Shiv Sena ticket and lost to Kshitij Thakur by over 40,000 votes[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/former-cop-pradeep-sharma-nia-arrest-mansukh-hiran-murder-case-7363912/) |
## Background and early career
Sharma was born in [Agra](https://www.edgepedia.org/agra) and raised in Dhule district in [Maharashtra](https://www.edgepedia.org/maharashtra), where his family had settled; he is the son of a college professor.[9](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/events/pradeep-sharma-the-encounter-specialist-whose-story-hits-the-big-screen-with-ab-tak-112/articleshow/124360731.cms) • [7](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/former-cop-pradeep-sharma-nia-arrest-mansukh-hiran-murder-case-7363912/) He joined the Mumbai Police force on January 21, 1983, and was posted at Mahim Police Station.[1](https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/pradeep-sharma-encounter-specialist-s-brush-with-controversies-101623908265633.html) He belonged to the 1983 batch of the Police Training School in Nashik, a class that produced many of the Mumbai Police's encounter specialists, including Praful Bhosale, Vijay Salaskar, and [Daya Nayak](https://www.edgepedia.org/daya-nayak), and was trained there by the IPS officer Arvind Inamdar.[10](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/the-rise-and-the-fall-of-encounter-specialist-pradeep-sharma/articleshow/3429956.cms)
After Mahim he moved to the special branch and then the crime branch, where he was noticed for his intelligence-gathering skill and assigned to target the Mumbai underworld, which had gained notoriety in the late 1980s and 1990s.[1](https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/pradeep-sharma-encounter-specialist-s-brush-with-controversies-101623908265633.html) In 1995, as an assistant inspector in the anti-narcotics cell of the Bandra crime branch, he is believed to have had his first contact with the [Chhota Rajan](https://www.edgepedia.org/chhota-rajan) gang. From 1998 to 2003, as senior inspector of the Crime Intelligence Unit in Andheri, he was credited with killing the gangster Vinod Matkar and the underworld figures Parvez Siddiqui, Rafiq Dabbawala, and Sadik Kalia, along with three [Lashkar-e-Taiba](https://www.edgepedia.org/lashkar-e-taiba) suspects.[3](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/a-look-at-police-career-of-pradeep-sharma-who-killed-105-people-in-encounters/articleshow/20937550.cms)
## The encounter era
In the 1990s the Mumbai police gave officers leeway to go after the underworld, and several of the resulting encounters were later found to have been staged.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-why-encounter-specialist-pradeep-sharma-has-been-summoned-by-nia-7262881/lite/) Additional Commissioners of Police Satyapal Singh and Param Bir Singh formed elite encounter squads led by inspectors Pradeep Sharma, Praful Bhosale, and [Vijay Salaskar](https://www.edgepedia.org/vijay-salaskar), with a brief to finish off the gangs of [Chhota Shakeel](https://www.edgepedia.org/chhota-shakeel) and [Arun Gawli](https://www.edgepedia.org/arun-gawli).[11](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/the-rise-fall-and-redemption-of-top-encounter-cop-pradeep-sharma/story-kifmd1NsuKaOBmiNqbIxdP_amp.html) • [12](https://sanipanhwar.com/uploads/books/2024-08-27_14-08-39_f4535fa2dc8cd5bef0c52a2a3dc44fe9.pdf) The count of people killed in encounters attributed to Sharma varies across reports: a 2013 Times of India profile says 105, Hindustan Times profiles say 112 and 113.[3](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/a-look-at-police-career-of-pradeep-sharma-who-killed-105-people-in-encounters/articleshow/20937550.cms) • [4](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/who-is-pradeep-sharma-ex-mumbai-cop-who-killed-112-gangsters-101710844368766.html) • [5](https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/pradeep-sharma-from-dhule-teacher-s-son-to-113-encounters/story-cBzx6h3tHaGjGUQJ8KWUOP_amp.html)
His name also appeared in a series of controversies: the 2003 custodial death of the Ghatkopar bomb blast accused Khwaja Yunus, an alleged nexus with the don [Dawood Ibrahim](https://www.edgepedia.org/dawood-ibrahim), an alleged 2006 Malad land grab, and the killing of Lakhan Bhaiya.[3](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/a-look-at-police-career-of-pradeep-sharma-who-killed-105-people-in-encounters/articleshow/20937550.cms) India Today reported in 2009 that he was believed to have amassed wealth disproportionate to his known income, amounting to over Rs 30 billion (Rs 3,000 crore).[6](https://www.indiatoday.in/latest-headlines/story/encounter-specialist-pradeep-sharma-reinstated-46807-2009-05-06)
## Dismissal, reinstatement, and the Lakhan Bhaiyya case
Sharma was dismissed from the force in August 2008 under Article 311 of the Constitution, after telephone conversations between him and Chhota Shakeel tapped by the Intelligence Bureau led to an inquiry.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-why-encounter-specialist-pradeep-sharma-has-been-summoned-by-nia-7262881/lite/) In May 2009 the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal ordered his reinstatement with immediate effect and directed the state to pay him back wages.[6](https://www.indiatoday.in/latest-headlines/story/encounter-specialist-pradeep-sharma-reinstated-46807-2009-05-06) The state government appealed to the Bombay High Court.[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/former-cop-pradeep-sharma-nia-arrest-mansukh-hiran-murder-case-7363912/)
In 2010 he was arrested by a high-court-monitored special investigation team led by Deputy Commissioner of Police K M M Prasanna in the Lakhan Bhaiyya fake encounter case. Ramnarayan Gupta alias Lakhan Bhaiyya, an alleged Chhota Rajan aide, had been gunned down at Nana Nani Park in Andheri (West) in 2006. The SIT chargesheeted 22 people, including 13 police officials. Sharma was the only officer acquitted by the trial court, in 2013 for lack of evidence, while 13 other officers from his team were convicted and given life imprisonment; the state challenged the acquittal in the Bombay High Court.[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/former-cop-pradeep-sharma-nia-arrest-mansukh-hiran-murder-case-7363912/) • [2](https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-why-encounter-specialist-pradeep-sharma-has-been-summoned-by-nia-7262881/lite/) In 2023 the Bombay High Court convicted and sentenced him to life imprisonment for the killing.[4](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/who-is-pradeep-sharma-ex-mumbai-cop-who-killed-112-gangsters-101710844368766.html) A March 2024 Indian Express report states that this life sentence was overturned by the Bombay High Court.[8](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/i-t-raid-pradeep-sharmas-luck-runs-out-fake-encounter-case-9223156/)
## Return to service and politics
In 2017 Sharma was reinstated and posted as head of the Anti Extortion Cell of the Thane police, led by then-commissioner Param Bir Singh. Within a month of taking charge he arrested Iqbal Kaskar, a fugitive gangster and Dawood Ibrahim's younger brother, and he handled several high-profile cases that later drew bribery allegations.[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/former-cop-pradeep-sharma-nia-arrest-mansukh-hiran-murder-case-7363912/)
Ahead of the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections he applied for voluntary retirement and contested from Nalasopara on a [Shiv Sena](https://www.edgepedia.org/shiv-sena) ticket, losing to Kshitij Thakur by over 40,000 votes. During the campaign a video circulated in which he was purportedly seen saying he had spent most of his jail term in a hospital rather than a prison; he called it a "slip of the tongue", and the prison IG had written in 2012 about him spending nearly half his sentence in the Thane civil hospital over a back problem.[13](https://indianexpress.com/elections/spent-most-of-jail-term-in-hospital-ex-cop-lands-in-controversy-after-video-claiming-slip-of-tongue-goes-viral-6063505/lite/) He runs an NGO called PS Foundation that does outreach to local communities.[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/former-cop-pradeep-sharma-nia-arrest-mansukh-hiran-murder-case-7363912/) In 2024, while an accused in the Antilia case, he campaigned for the Shiv Sena candidate [Ravindra Waikar](https://www.edgepedia.org/ravindra-waikar) in Mumbai North West, where supporters carried banners of PS Foundation bearing pictures of Sharma and his wife, drawing objections from opposition parties.[14](https://www.indiatoday.in/elections/lok-sabha/story/pradeep-sharma-encounter-specialist-antilia-bomb-scare-shiv-sena-lok-sabha-election-2534951-2024-05-03)
## Antilia case and NIA arrest
Sharma is said to be the mentor of Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Waze, who was arrested by the NIA in the Antilia terror scare case, in which an explosives-laden vehicle was found near the Mumbai residence of [Mukesh Ambani](https://www.edgepedia.org/mukesh-ambani); the two are also believed to be close to Param Bir Singh, their reporting DCP in the 1990s.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-why-encounter-specialist-pradeep-sharma-has-been-summoned-by-nia-7262881/lite/) After being questioned in April 2021, Sharma was arrested by the NIA on June 17, 2021 in connection with the murder of Mansukh Hiran, the trader whose body was recovered from a creek at Retibunder on March 5, 2021, a case linked to the bomb scare. The NIA claims Sharma hatched the conspiracy and recruited two history-sheeters, Manish Soni and Satish Mothkuri, to kill Hiran.[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/former-cop-pradeep-sharma-nia-arrest-mansukh-hiran-murder-case-7363912/) • [15](https://sscbs.du.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ITE-Full-Magazine-Issue-July-5-2021.pdf) • [16](https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/antilia-bomb-scare-case-sc-dismisses-ex-cop-pradeep-sharma-s-discharge-plea-101780082040238.html)
The case has continued in the courts. The Bombay High Court rejected his discharge plea in March 2026, with the NIA's counsel asserting there was sufficient evidence of his involvement, and the Supreme Court dismissed his discharge plea in May 2026, upholding the earlier rulings.[17](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/antilia-bomb-scare-case-hc-rejects-former-police-officer-pradeep-sharmas-discharge-plea-10575955/) • [16](https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/antilia-bomb-scare-case-sc-dismisses-ex-cop-pradeep-sharma-s-discharge-plea-101780082040238.html)
## Cultural depictions
Sharma's career has inspired Bollywood movies, and the film *Ab Tak 112*, dedicated exclusively to his life, was announced with the title referring to the encounter count most often attributed to him.[9](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/events/pradeep-sharma-the-encounter-specialist-whose-story-hits-the-big-screen-with-ab-tak-112/articleshow/124360731.cms) • [5](https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/pradeep-sharma-from-dhule-teacher-s-son-to-113-encounters/story-cBzx6h3tHaGjGUQJ8KWUOP_amp.html)
## References
1. [Pradeep Sharma: Encounter specialist's brush with controversies, Hindustan Times (June 17, 2021)](https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/pradeep-sharma-encounter-specialist-s-brush-with-controversies-101623908265633.html)
2. [Explained: Why 'encounter specialist' Pradeep Sharma was summoned by the NIA, The Indian Express (April 7, 2021)](https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-why-encounter-specialist-pradeep-sharma-has-been-summoned-by-nia-7262881/lite/)
3. [A look at police career of Pradeep Sharma, who killed 105 people in encounters, The Times of India (July 6, 2013)](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/a-look-at-police-career-of-pradeep-sharma-who-killed-105-people-in-encounters/articleshow/20937550.cms)
4. [Who is Pradeep Sharma, ex-Mumbai Police officer who killed 112 gangsters?, Hindustan Times (September 2023)](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/who-is-pradeep-sharma-ex-mumbai-cop-who-killed-112-gangsters-101710844368766.html)
5. [Pradeep Sharma: From teacher's son in Dhule to 113 encounters, Hindustan Times (2016)](https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/pradeep-sharma-from-dhule-teacher-s-son-to-113-encounters/story-cBzx6h3tHaGjGUQJ8KWUOP_amp.html)
6. [MAT orders recall of Mumbai encounter specialist, India Today (May 6, 2009)](https://www.indiatoday.in/latest-headlines/story/encounter-specialist-pradeep-sharma-reinstated-46807-2009-05-06)
7. [NIA arrests Pradeep Sharma: Former cop managed to land back on his feet every time he was on wrong side of the law, The Indian Express (June 17, 2021)](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/former-cop-pradeep-sharma-nia-arrest-mansukh-hiran-murder-case-7363912/)
8. [After I-T raid, Pradeep Sharma's luck runs out in fake encounter case, The Indian Express (March 19, 2024)](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/i-t-raid-pradeep-sharmas-luck-runs-out-fake-encounter-case-9223156/)
9. [Pradeep Sharma: The encounter specialist whose story hits the big screen with Ab Tak 112, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/events/pradeep-sharma-the-encounter-specialist-whose-story-hits-the-big-screen-with-ab-tak-112/articleshow/124360731.cms)
10. [The rise and the fall of encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/the-rise-and-the-fall-of-encounter-specialist-pradeep-sharma/articleshow/3429956.cms)
11. [The rise, fall and redemption of Mumbai's encounter cop Pradeep Sharma, Hindustan Times (2016)](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/the-rise-fall-and-redemption-of-top-encounter-cop-pradeep-sharma/story-kifmd1NsuKaOBmiNqbIxdP_amp.html)
12. [Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Murder Mafia, S. Hussain Zaidi](https://sanipanhwar.com/uploads/books/2024-08-27_14-08-39_f4535fa2dc8cd5bef0c52a2a3dc44fe9.pdf)
13. ['Spent most of jail term in hospital': Ex-cop lands in controversy after video claiming 'slip of tongue' goes viral, The Indian Express (October 11, 2019)](https://indianexpress.com/elections/spent-most-of-jail-term-in-hospital-ex-cop-lands-in-controversy-after-video-claiming-slip-of-tongue-goes-viral-6063505/lite/)
14. [Antilia case accused Pradeep Sharma campaigns for Shiv Sena, irks opposition, India Today (May 3, 2024)](https://www.indiatoday.in/elections/lok-sabha/story/pradeep-sharma-encounter-specialist-antilia-bomb-scare-shiv-sena-lok-sabha-election-2534951-2024-05-03)
15. [The Hunters Become the Hunted, ITE Magazine, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies (July 2021)](https://sscbs.du.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ITE-Full-Magazine-Issue-July-5-2021.pdf)
16. [Antilia bomb scare case: SC dismisses ex-cop Pradeep Sharma's discharge plea, Hindustan Times (May 30, 2026)](https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/antilia-bomb-scare-case-sc-dismisses-ex-cop-pradeep-sharma-s-discharge-plea-101780082040238.html)
17. [Antilia bomb scare case: HC rejects former police officer Pradeep Sharma's discharge plea, The Indian Express (March 11, 2026)](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/antilia-bomb-scare-case-hc-rejects-former-police-officer-pradeep-sharmas-discharge-plea-10575955/)
18. [Bombay High Court Sentences Former Mumbai Police Officer to Life Imprisonment in Fake Encounter Case, Akashvani News](https://newsonair.gov.in/bombay-high-court-sentences-former-mumbai-police-officer-to-life-imprisonment-in-fake-encounter-case/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Conflict and security › Military and security biographies › Police, law-enforcement, and security officers › International law enforcement officers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license