IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma was not on EC’s initial observer list for West Bengal

Ajay Pal Sharma, a 2011-batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, who appeared in a viral video clip allegedly warning locals of severe consequences if they failed to reveal the whereabouts of Trinamool Congress candidate Jahangir Khan in Falta under West Bengal’s Diamond Harbour constituency, was not included in the initial list of 84 police observers released by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on April 17.

Mr. Sharma, currently posted as Deputy Inspector General of Police in Prayagraj, was brought in on Sunday as the police observer for four Assembly constituencies in South 24 Parganas, replacing Parmar Smit Parshottamdas, a 2017-batch IPS officer from Odisha cadre.