'Intention Wasn't To Interfere But...': Ajit Pawar On Viral Woman IPS Video

Following a controversy over him "threatening" a woman police officer who was cracking down on illegal excavation in Maharashtra's Solapur, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has said he was only trying to prevent an escalation in the situation on the ground and that he had no intention of "interfering" with law enforcement.

In a video that had gone viral, Mr Pawar, who is also president of the NCP, is heard speaking to Anjana Krishna, a sub-divisional police officer in Solapur's Karmala, who was stopping the illegal excavation of 'murrum' - a substance used in road construction - in Kurdu village. 

Ms Krishna, who is originally from Kerala and was posted to Maharashtra recently, was handed a phone by an NCP worker and told Mr Pawar was on the line. The officer did not recognise Mr Pawar's voice and asked him to call her on her cellphone. 

"Mai tere upar action lunga (I will act against you)," Mr Pawar tells Ms Krishna, "Tujhe mujhe dekhna hai na? Tera number de do ya WhatsApp call karo. Mera chehra toh aapko samajh mein aaega na? (You want to see me, right? Give me your number or call me on WhatsApp. You will recognise my face, right?)," he is heard telling her. 

"Itna aapko daring hua hai kya (how dare you?)," he asked the officer, before video calling her and allegedly asking her to stop the action she was taking.

The opposition hit out at Mr Pawar and accused him of threatening a police officer as well as protecting "thieves" in his party. 

"You are threatening an IPS officer. He is heard saying that he will not tolerate indiscipline. Then what is this? That too, to protect the thieves of his own party. Mr Pawar, where is your sense of discipline? Illegal excavation of 'murrum' means defrauding the state's treasury and you are the finance minister. Yet you did it," Shiv Sena (Udhhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut said on Friday. 

'Highest Respect'

As the issue began to snowball, Mr Pawar took to X on Friday afternoon and issued a clarification. He remains committed, he said, to ensuring transparency and stopping all illegal activities. 

"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," he wrote. 

सोलापूर जिल्ह्यातील पोलीस अधिकाऱ्यांसोबतच्या संवादाच्या संदर्भात काही व्हिडिओ समाजमाध्यमांवर प्रसारित होत आहेत. मी स्पष्टपणे सांगू इच्छितो की, माझा उद्देश कायद्याच्या अंमलबजावणीमध्ये हस्तक्षेप करण्याचा नव्हता, तर त्या ठिकाणी परिस्थिती शांत रहावी आणि ती अधिक बिघडू नये याची काळजी…

— Ajit Pawar (@AjitPawarSpeaks) September 5, 2025

"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," the deputy chief minister added. 

NCP MP Sunil Tatkare had also said Mr Pawar may have spoken to the officer to placate party workers.

"He may have chided the IPS officer to placate party workers. He didn't mean to stop the action completely," Mr Tatkare said.

Nephew's Support, And A Warning

Mr Pawar has also found support from his nephew and MLA Rohit Pawar, who is from the rival faction of the NCP led by Sharad Pawar. Rohit Pawar said his uncle has a straightforward manner of speaking, which is sometimes misunderstood, but also warned Ajit Pawar that his allies could be fanning the controversy.

"There are many issues in the state, such as farmers' loan waiver and damage caused by unseasonal rains but, instead of those, more discussion seems to be happening about the conversation between the female police officer in Karmala and Ajit Dada. Even if Ajit Dada speaks normally, a new person meeting him might feel that he is angry or upset. But his working style, nature, and straightforwardness have been known to Maharashtra for 35-40 years," Rohit Pawar wrote in Marathi on X.

"The concerned woman officer is also not at fault in any way. But it appears that an attempt is being made by the friendly parties themselves to deliberately give a different spin to the conversation and target Ajit Dada. Even though we are in the opposition, my nature has always been to call a spade a spade, so Ajit Dada should take note on this occasion of how a trap is being set by his own friends. We will continue to draw the government's attention to the real issues, without adding fuel to unnecessary controversies," he added.