Mumbai: “Itna aapko daring hua kya? … Main tere upar action lunga (How come you are acting in such a daring way? I will take action on you),” the voice crackled over the phone.
The man in question was none other than Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who purportedly chided a woman Indian Police Service (IPS) officer when she was taking action against illegal soil excavation in a Solapur village.
The video of the phone call has not only given ammunition to the opposition parties to target the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader but also forced him to come out with a clarification—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.
But this was not before a video was shared widely Thursday in which Pawar purportedly chides Anjana Krishna, the sub-divisional police officer from Solapur, at least three days ago in Karmala’s Kurdu village where she had gone following complaints of illegal excavation of ‘murrum’ soil—used in road construction—in Solapur district.
As the criticism grew louder, the NCP functionaries defended Pawar, with state president Sunil Tatkare calling it “his style”.
“This is Ajit dada’s style. He speaks in this tone. Dada never talks arrogantly. It is his natural tone. The allegations being levelled are baseless. He is requesting the officer that this needs to be done. Ajit Dada in Maharashtra is known as a man of commitment; he addresses the grievances on an urgent basis,” Tatkare told the media on Friday.
Earlier, the Maharashtra deputy chief minister came out with a statement on ‘X’. “My attention has been drawn to certain videos circulating regarding my interaction with police officials in Solapur. Let me state clearly that my intention was not to interfere with law enforcement but to ensure that the situation on the ground remained calm and did not escalate further,” Pawar wrote.
“I have the highest respect for our police force and its officers, including the women officers who serve with distinction and courage and I value the rule of law above all. 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.”
That has not stopped the opposition from taking a swipe at Pawar, who is often fondly called as a man with discipline.
“Ajit Pawar always says that he is a man with discipline and will never tolerate indiscipline. Then what happened now? To protect goons within your party, you reprimanded the woman police IPS officer. Where has your discipline gone now?” Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) spokesperson Sanjay Raut said Friday.
Senior Congress leader Yashomati Thakur said that she was shocked with the behaviour of Pawar. “Instead of taking action against the perpetrators, if Ajit Pawar is protecting the goons indulging in illegal excavation and reprimanding a dutiful officer, this is an embarrassment for the state. His behaviour is really unfortunate,” she said.
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The dispute
Earlier this week, in Kurdu village in Madha taluka, the excavation of ‘murrum’ was going for road construction, undertaken by the local gram panchayat. The revenue department visited the spot and some villagers raised the suspicion that the work could be illegal.
Revenue department officers and tehsildar went to the spot. There was an altercation between the administrative officers and villagers involved in excavation, which included local NCP taluka head Baba Jagtap.
The administrative officers then called the police for protection and the IPS officer reached the spot. Jagtap then called Ajit Pawar from his phone and handed it over to Krishna. This phone call conversation was recorded in an open field by a local villager.
In the video, Pawar purportedly tells Krishna: “I am the Deputy Chief Minister speaking to you… I order you to stop the action… Go and tell your Dr Shridhar (a senior official) that the Deputy CM has ordered for the action to be stopped because now the condition in Mumbai is not good and we have to give importance to Mumbai currently. Tell him my name.”
In response, Krishna asks him to call on her number. He then raises his voice: “Ek minute, ek minute, main tere upar action lunga. Aap mujhe direct call karne bolte hai (One minute … I will take action against you. You tell me to directly call you).”
The IPS officer tells him that how would she know whom she is speaking exactly to.
And to this, Pawar said, “I myself am talking to you. And you are telling me to directly call you. You don’t understand this much? Can you see me (on video call)? I will give you my number… Can you recognise my face? … Give me your number, I will directly call you.”
Pawar then calls her directly on video call on her mobile and asks her to stop the action.
The entire conversation was recorded in which Krishna is also seen sitting on the ground with all the villagers surrounding her.
Defending his ally and cabinet colleague, BJP minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule told the media on Friday, “When you place a phone call like that, the one on the other side does not know of the matter. It has happened to me too sometimes. When you do not know the situation at hand, the officer tells you that it is illegal but the other party says that it is legal. Such issues rise out of such controversy. I think Ajit Pawar can never scold any officer over something illegal and wrong.”
Calls to Krishna went unanswered. Superintendent of Police, Solapur Rural, Atul Kulkarni said that he was busy and asked to call later. ThePrint also reached out to Sanjay Bhosale, Tehsildar. This article will be updated as and when their responses are received.
On Friday, the police registered an FIR against villagers involved in altercation with the administrative officers for sections related to common intent to commit a criminal act, assaulting or using criminal force against public servant to prevent them from performing duty, unlawful assembly in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita as well as under the Environment (Protection) Act.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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