Ajit Pawar rebukes IPS officer, stirs row

After a video of Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar, threatening and asking an IPS officer to stop action against illegal soil excavation went viral, the NCP is now targeting the sub-divisional police officer Anjali Krishna who is posted in Solapur.

NCP spokesperson Amol Mitkari on Friday wrote to the UPSC secretary seeking "scrutiny" into the documents submitted by Krishna. "There have been doubts expressed on the documents submitted. The (UPSC) Commission should do an inquiry on its level to find the truth and inform the relevant departments of the same," Mitkari wrote in the letter.

Mitkari's letter comes after Ajit's phone call to Krishna got leaked on social media where he is heard threatening her on the phone. Krishna had gone to Kurdu village in Solapur on August 31 after receiving complaints of illegal sand mining. As the police and other officials reached there, the local NCP workers threatened the government officials and then called up Ajit.

In the phone call, Ajit can be heard saying, "Listen, I am the deputy CM speaking and I am giving you the order to stop it." Ajit had called on a local functionary's phone which was handed over to Krishna when the IPS officer said that she didn't recognise the voice which agitated Ajit. Later he can be heard saying, "I will take action against you. You are asking me to call you directly. You want to see me. Take my number and make a Whatsapp call. How dare you."

The deputy chief minister did not deny the phone call to the IPS officer and instead wrote on X that his "intention was not to interfere with law enforcement but to ensure that the situation on the ground remained calm and did not escalate further." "I remain firmly committed to transparent governance and to ensuring that every illegal activity, including sand mining is dealt with strictly as per the law," he wrote.