The BRICS TimesThe IPS officer had been acting against criminal elements involved in illegal murrum excavation, while Pawar was purportedly heard instructing her not to proceed with the operation.
Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has landed in a major row after a video surfaced online, purportedly showing him scolding a woman IPS officer for taking action against an unlawful soil excavation in Solapur. The footage, which quickly went viral across social media platforms, has triggered widespread criticism, though the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has maintained that Pawar never asked for the crackdown to be entirely abandoned but only sought a deferment.
The controversy revolves around Solapur’s sub-divisional police officer, Anjali Krishna, who was reportedly moving against a group of goons involved in the illegal extraction of ‘murrum’ soil, commonly used in road construction. In the viral clip, Pawar is allegedly heard instructing her to halt the proceedings.
“You stop the action and go back to your office. Tell the tehsildar that the action has been stopped on the orders of the deputy CM,” Pawar is heard telling Krishna over the phone.
During the exchange, Krishna is also heard asking the caller to contact her on her personal number, so that she could confirm whether it was indeed the deputy chief minister speaking to her. This remark seemingly agitated Pawar, who sarcastically responded that he could make a video call. He then challenged her with the words: “Will you be able to recognise my face? How dare you?” Reports further suggest that Pawar later placed a video call to the officer and allegedly warned her of consequences for “disobeying the deputy chief minister of the state.”
The call reportedly took place on a phone belonging to an NCP worker. As soon as the clip began circulating, it drew strong reactions online, with several users questioning the deputy CM’s behaviour and extending support to Anjali Krishna. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushama Andhare also came out in defence of the officer, remarking that Krishna’s request to verify Pawar’s identity was entirely reasonable. “Why should she stop the action? There was nothing wrong in wanting to verify if the call was really from the deputy CM,” Andhare stated.
Amid mounting outrage, the NCP stepped forward with an explanation. Party state president Sunil Tatkare said Pawar’s words were being misinterpreted, clarifying that the deputy CM only asked for the operation to be postponed due to certain law-and-order concerns. “Pawar is known for straight talk. He asked the woman IPS officer to defer the action as there were issues relating to law and order in the state. These things keep happening while dealing with the bureaucracy and there was nothing wrong with what he said or did,” Tatkare explained, while also alleging that the clip had been deliberately leaked.
Murrum soil, which Krishna was acting against, is widely used as a sub-base and filling material for road projects. According to earlier reports, several individuals involved in its unlawful excavation in the region have criminal backgrounds, which made the officer’s operation significant.
Akshay Didwaniya
