March 19, 2024: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday sentenced former Mumbai Police encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma to life imprisonment in the alleged fake encounter of Lakhan Bhaiya in 2006.

Lakhan Bhaiya was the former aide of the notorious gangster Chhota Rajan. He was killed in police shooting near Nana Nani Park in Versova on November 11, 2006. His original name was Ramnarayan Gupta.

The Bombay HC also dismissed a batch of 13 appeals, including 12 police personnel and one private citizen, who were involved in the case.

As per sources, Pradeep Sharma attained notability as an "encounter specialist" with the Mumbai Encounter Squad and was involved with the deaths of as many as 312 criminals. On 31 August 2008, he was suspended from the Mumbai police on charges of corruption but was reinstated on 16 August 2017 after he was proven innocent of those charges. Sharma resigned from Mumbai police in July 2019 after a 35 year long career.