Netflix's docuseries Mumbai Mafia: Police vs. The Underworld is taking India and other parts of the world by storm ever since it was released on January 6, 2023. As the name suggests - Mumbai Mafia: Police vs. The Underworld revolves around the 80s and 90s when the economic capital of India was under the influence of the underworld especially gangster & terrorist Dawood Ibrahim. In the late 80s and early 90s. the influence of Dawood Ibrahim's organized crime syndicate was at its peak and there was utter chaos and fear on the streets of (then) Bombay. Mumbai Mafia: Police vs. The Underworld has been raising a lot of eyebrows as it mostly revolves around the encounter squad and controversial cop Pradeep Sharma who was among the top cop when the Mumbai Police declared war against the underworld, especially after the 1993 bomb blasts. Known as 'Encounter Specialist' Pradeep Sharma is part of the Mumbai Mafia: Police vs. The Underworld and he narrates how he and his squad eradicated the influence of D company from the economic capital. However, Netflix's docuseries also highlights the controversies revolving around the controversial cops and raises questions on Pradeep Sharma's ethics. Whatever might be the truth is, Mumbai Mafia: Police vs. The Underworld rides high on Pradeep Sharma's accounts and therefore those eager to know about him, where is he posted, and the controversies revolving around him, below you can know everything about him.
Who is Pradeep Sharma and where is he now?
Pradeep Sharma from whom the underworld shivered once is currently facing many serious charges. His name has come up in the infamous Antilia case and the murder of 'cold-blooded murder' of Thane businessman Mansukh Hiran. Didn't ring any bell? Let's understand Pradeep Sharma's role in the infamous case.
On 25 February 2021 when a green Mahindra Scorpio SUV containing 20 gelignite sticks was found parked about 400 meters from Antilia, the residence of Mukesh Ambani in Mumbai at about 2:00 am with a note inside the vehicle, addressed to Mukesh and his wife Nita Ambani. Subsequently, a lot of high-profile officers from the Mumbai Police had to resign. One of the most prominent names was that of Pradeep Sharma, a former officer in the city police force. Sharma attained notability as an 'encounter specialist' with the Mumbai Encounter Squad and is said to have killed 312 criminals in encounters. However, he was dismissed on 31 August 2008 on charges of corruption. He was reinstated on 16 August 2017 after he was proven innocent but resigned in July 2019 in the MVA government led by Uddhav Thackeray.
However, Pradeep Sharma was arrested on June 17, 2021, in the Antilia case by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which said "he was not innocent and had committed offences of criminal conspiracy, murder, and terror acts." The NIA had in May 2022 said in its affidavit filed in the Bombay High Court in the Antilia case that Pradeep Sharma was the "main conspirator" in the "cold-blooded murder" of Thane businessman Mansukh Hiran whose green Mahindra Scorpio SUV was found with the note and gelatin sticks.
Where is Pradeep Sharma now?
After resigning from the Mumbai Police, Pradeep Sharma joined politics and started PS Foundation. The Bombay High Court on December 16, 2022, reserved its order on the bail plea of Pradeep Sharma and he is still in judicial custody in the Antilia and Mansukh Hiran murder cases.
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Antilia Bomb Scare and Mansukh Hiren murder case in detail
On February 25, at around 3 PM, a car (green Scorpio) laden with explosive gelatin sticks along with a threatening letter was found by Mumbai Police, outside the Ambani residence - Antilia. A primary investigation from the CCTV revealed that the car had been parked near the residence in the intervening night prior. Later, on March 5, Mansukh Hiren, the owner of the car in question, was found dead at the Kalwa creek - with police claiming that he committed suicide by jumping into the stream. The deceased's wife, however, alleged murder and put forth that Sachin Vaze was actually using the car since November.
Shortly, then-Mumbai API Sachin Vaze who had actually been put in charge of the Antilia case, was arrested by NIA on March 13 for his alleged involvement. While Vaze was again suspended from police service amid the NIA arresting him and taking him into custody, his superior - then Mumbai CP Param Bir Singh was transferred to Home Guards due to 'lapses' in the probe. He then sent an 8-page letter to CM Thackeray, HM Anil Deshmukh and Gov Koshyari alleging that Deshmukh had demanded from Sachin Vaze to collect Rs 100 crore from 1750 pubs in Mumbai per month. Deshmukh was forced to resign from his post after a CBI inquiry was ordered against him by the Bombay HC, since upheld by the Supreme Court.
Vaze, meanwhile, was sent to Taloja jail where he remained till just days ago when he was moved to a private hospital after claiming he has a 'heart' ailment, while the Maharashtra govt has also ordered an inquiry into Param Bir Singh as to how Vaze went 'rogue' in the Antilia case while under Singh. The CBI is also probing Anil Deshmukh who has stepped down as Maharashtra's Home Minister, whereas the ED has also filed a case.
There are ten names mentioned in the NIA chargesheet including Sachin Vaze, Pradeep Sharma, Riyaz Kazi, Sunil Mane (Vaze's close aide), Santosh Shellar and Anand Jadav (who were in contact with Pradeep Sharma). Sachin Vaze had, in fact, been tasked with probing the Antilia Bomb Scare case, till his own role in the matter surfaced and he was taken into custody.