‘Itna daring hua hai?’ Ajit Pawar sparks row over viral video ‘threatening’ woman IPS officer over excavation

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar has found himself at the centre of a political storm after a video surfaced online allegedly showing him pressuring a woman IPS officer to halt action against illegal soil excavation in Solapur two days ago.

The video captured a phone conversation between Pawar and Anjana Krishna, sub-divisional police officer of Karmala taluka, during a crackdown on illegal ‘murrum’ (red soil) excavation in Kurdu village.

Krishna led a team to act on complaints about the unauthorised excavation – a material commonly used in road construction. As tensions flared between officials and villagers, local NCP workers, including one Baba Jagtap, intervened. Jagtap is seen in the video handing his phone to the officer after connecting with Pawar directly.

In the clip, Pawar appeared irked after the officer, unable to verify his identity over the call, asked him to call her directly.

“I can understand what you are saying, but I am unable to figure out if I am talking to the Deputy Chief Minister. Can you please call me on my number directly?” Krishna asked.

Pawar replied, “Ek minute, main tere upar action action lunga. Itna aapko daring hua hai kya? (Wait a minute, I will take action against you. Do you really have that much daring?)

He later made a video call to confirm his identity and is seen instructing the officer to halt the operation. Krishna, in response, said she had not recognised his voice.

The NCP has come to defend Pawar, calling the interaction “misinterpreted”.

“Ajit Dada may have chided the officer to pacify party workers. He did not intend to halt the action completely,” said Sunil Tatkare, NCP’s state president.

Meanwhile, no police complaint has been filed, and all officers involved, including the tehsildar and the sub-divisional officer, have maintained silence, citing an ongoing internal inquiry.