Encounter Specialist: These were the officers who cracked the chest and intent of the criminals, know all

The Bombay High Court convicted former Mumbai police officer Pradeep Sharma in the 2006 fake encounter case. The court has sentenced Pradeep Sharma to life imprisonment. The court has asked Pradeep Sharma to surrender within three weeks. Pradeep Sharma was earlier arrested by the NIA in connection with the Antilia terror threat case and the murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran. However, the Supreme Court granted him bail in August last year. Pradeep Sharma is counted among the top encounter experts not only in Mumbai but in the country.

Pradeep Sharma will now once again be behind the bars. Pradeep Sharma is believed to be the second culprit of the death in Mumbai. Pradeep Sharma had more than 100 encounters when the gang war was at its peak in Mumbai in the 90s and early 2000s. However, many of his encounters have also been controversial and he was suspended in 2010.

Pradeep Sharma is a 1983 batch police officer. In 1999, Pradeep Sharma along with his accomplices killed Chhota Rajan associate Vinod Matkar in an encounter. Pradeep Sharma was suspended in 2008 for his alleged links with the underworld. He returned to work again in 2009. In 2010, Chhota Rajan's associate Lakhan Bhaiya was arrested in the fake encounter case. In-news Pradeep Sharma joined Shiv Sena in 2019 and also contested the Lok Sabha elections but lost.

This is about Pradeep Sharma but like him there are many other encounter specialists in the country. We are going to tell about some of them.

Amitabh Yash- He is a brilliant officer of UP Police. He is the ADG (Law and Order) of UP. Not only this, he is also the ADG in UP STF. According to official records available on the UP Police website, 52-year-old Amitabh Yash, a 1996-batch IPS officer, hails from Bihar's Bhojpur district. He has been leading the UP STF since the BJP came to power in UP in 2017. Earlier he was Inspector General (IG) of UP STF and later became its ADG after promotion in January 2021.

His record has been excellent. As a Senior Superintendent of Police, he has played a key role in uprooting various gangs of dacoits from the Chambal region, including the July 2007 encounter with dreaded dacoit Shivkumar Patel alias 'Dadua' and August 2008 encounter with Ambika Patel alias 'Thokia'.

Anant Dev- Anant Dev is a 2006 batch IPS officer. He has been the SSP of Kanpur, Faizabad. Anant Dev is counted among the top police officers of UP. 60 encounters are registered in his name. He had most of the encounters in the Chambal area. It involves an encounter with Dadua, a dangerous criminal from Chambal.

Rajesh Kumar Pandey- Rajesh Kumar joined the UP Police in 1989. He has 50 encounters to his name. He has also been the SSP of Aligarh. He came into the limelight after his encounter with gangster Sriprakash Shukla. Rajesh Pandey is a resident of Prayagraj, UP. He has also received bravery award four times.

Daya Nayak   is the most famous encounter specialist. He is a top police officer of Mumbai Police. So far 56 Bollywood films were based on his life. Daya Nayak joined the police service in 1995. He has killed more than 80 criminals. He was promoted in January this year. He has been made Senior Superintendent of Police. Daya has worked in ATS for three years and has also worked with Pradeep Sharma. Daya Nayak is originally from Udupi district of Karnataka.