Pradeep Sharma Rank: Police Inspector Encounter killings 107

Profile: Sharma, who joined the Mumbai Police in 1983, has the highest number of encounter victims to his name in the state. He has the rare distinction of having been featured in Time magazine. Some notorious criminals slain in operations supervised by Sharma include Dawood Ibrahim’s close aide Sadiq Kalya at Dadar in 1999, Rafiq Dabbawala of the Subhash Thakur gang in 2001, Vinod Matkar of the Chhota Rajan gang, as well as three alleged LeT terrorists in 2003. He was posted as head of the Kandivili unit of the Mumbai Police Crime Branch and later shifted to D N Nagar police station.

Status: Sharma along with five other policemen were transferred out of Mumbai when they were being probed for the alleged custody death of 2002 Ghatkopar bomb blast accused Khwaja Yunus. Sharma was then exonerated by the state CID, and has now been posted at the main control room at the Mumbai Police headquarters.

Vijay Salaskar Rank: Police Inspector Encounter killings 70

Profile: Also a 1983 batch police officer, Salaskar is credited with having broken the backbone of the Arun Gawli and Amar Naik gangs. He shot to fame in 1997 when he killed Naik in an encounter. Some of his other well known victims are Gawli aides Sada Pawle and Vijay Tandel, Sadhu Shetty, Jaggu Shetty, Kundan Singh Rawat and Zahoor Makhanda. Salaskar was posted as head of the Anti-Robbery Squad of the Crime Branch, and was shifted to the Anti Terrorist Squad in the wake of the 7/11 serial blasts.

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