New Delhi, Aug 23, 2023- The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed bail plea of former Maharashtra Police ‘encounter specialist’ Pradeep Sharma, who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the sensational case of planting an explosive-laden SUV at Antilia, home of industrialist Mukesh Ambani and the subsequent death of vehicle owner Mansukh Hiran.
“We have allowed the appeal and granted bail,” said a bench headed by Justice AS Bopanna while pronouncing its verdict on the special leave petition filed by the former senior Police Inspector of Maharashtra Police.
Earlier in January this year, the Bombay High Court had turned down Sharma’s plea seeking bail after noting that he is an influential person and possibility of evidence tampering by him could not be ruled out.
However, a vacation bench of the Supreme Court in June had granted Sharma three-week interim bail to enable him to meet his ailing wife, which was extended till August 07 by the court last month.
The NIA had named Sharma, who is labelled as the ‘Dirty Harry’ of the Mumbai Police, as the ‘main conspirator’ in the sensational case of the abandoned SUV with 20 gelatin sticks and a threat note, found near Antilia, home of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, on February 25, 2021.
Ten days later, the police recovered the body of SUV owner Hiran from the Thane Creek marshes on March 5.
Taking a serious view of the twin cases which triggered a massive political row, the NIA slapped accused with the Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to murder, cheating, conspiracy, besides various sections of the Arms Act, the Explosive Substance Act, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act A former college professor-turned-policeman of the 1983 batch state cadre, he built up a formidable reputation for wiping out the Mumbai mafia through the so-called ‘encounter killings’.
However, Sharma was dismissed from the police force in 2008 for alleged links with the underworld, but was reinstated around 10 years later when the charges against him failed.
He started his second innings with a bang by arresting Iqbal Ibrahim Kaskar – the younger sibling of absconding mafia don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar – in September 2017, on extortion charges.
In 2019, he quit the police force to join the Shiv Sena and contested the Assembly elections unsuccessfully from Nalasopara constituency in Palghar. (Agency)
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