Mumbai police's high-profile encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma, who was sacked for his alleged criminal links, on Monday alleged that he was being framed by the underworld with the aim of removing him from the police department.
Encounter cops and controversy
Inspector Sharma, who had 112 encounter killings to his name in a career spanning over two decades, alleged that underworld don Chhota Rajan may have had a hand in his dismissal from police service.
Sharma, who allegedly had links with another underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, said it was Rajan who claimed in an interview to a TV channel that he had amassed property worth several hundreds of crores.
Sharma said he would challenge his dismissal in a court of law. "I will try to erase the blot on me," he said.
"Still, I don't know what mistake I have made. I think it is in underworld, which is in all this. They would be more happy to see me out of the police," Sharma said.
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"First, Chhota Rajan said I have got property worth Rs 1,000 crore. Later, he said it is worth about Rs 5,000 crore. After a year or so, he will say I have property worth Rs 20,000 crore," Sharma said.
Sharma, a former head of crime investigation unit, was dismissed after a probe found that his past records were undesirable, according to Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor.
Sharma, who was posted at Dharavi police station in northeast Mumbai, was served with the dismissal order on Saturday.
The disgraced officer said he had been summarily dismissed despite "having an unblemished record and the fact that there has been no action in my service for so many years.
'In a shootout, no one has time for niceties. You kill or get killed.''