Tall, handsome and dashing, he would probably give most Bollywood heroes a run for their money. But unlike the latter, he is not just a reel hero. Senior Police Inspector Pradeep Sharma and his colleagues ensure that our film heroes and other citizens of Mumbai, the economic capital of India, sleep in peace without the threat of extortion and criminals hanging over their heads. The 1983 batch Maharashtra police officer is among Mumbai's 'encounter' specialists and credited with gunning down 100 criminals.

From his office in Kandivali, northwest Mumbai, Sharma keeps a tab on the crime scene in the city's northern suburbs, monitoring extortion demands and activities of criminals who oversee their diabolic empires from sanctuaries abroad. It is his responsibility to arrest such people. However, these people can be dangerous. They carry weapons and are often willing to use them against well-armed and better-trained police officers. What follows are 'encounters.

Today, he may be an 'encounter' specialist but was lucky to get away with injury the first time he was involved in an 'encounter' with criminals. "I got a call that two criminals were coming to Ghatkopar (in northeast Mumbai) to fix some target. I reached the spot and asked them to surrender. One of them attacked me with a chopper (a machete). I pulled out my revolver and shot him dead. The other criminal fired at me, but missed. I shot him dead." He still has that revolver though he uses better, bigger weapons these days. When criminals started wielding automatic weapons, he followed suit. In 1993 he used an AK-47 for the first time in an 'encounter' with the dreaded criminal, Subhash Makdawala, who possessed an AK-56, at Ghatkopar

In so many 'encounters' in Mumbai, one hardly hear of policemen being killed. Don't criminals use their weapons? "We adopt different strategies depending on the situation. When Indian Airlines flight IC-814 was hijacked in 1999, as part of the larger conspiracy, some terrorists were holed up in a slum in Jogeshwari (northwest Mumbai)." "On getting a tip-off, we went to arrest the terrorists who were hiding in a small room with weapons and explosives. When one of them came out, we trapped him. Then we walked towards the room with the captured terrorist leading the way. On seeing him, the others opened the door." "We pushed the door open, entered the room and pointed our guns at the heads of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists. They did not resist arrest. Our strategy plus quick action did not give them a chance to react." "We try to avoid an encounter. But if criminals know that we are around, they would definitely try to fight their way out

Criminals may fear Sharma's gun but his real weapon is the telephone. Sharma's every move depends on phone calls. He gets a call every 10 or 15 minutes. Every call is attended to. Carefully. One never knows which one will bring that all- important tip-off from an informant, the crucial link between the police and the underworld. It is not possible to keep track of criminals without maintaining a network of informers. A lot of time is spent waiting, for that all-important call, a tip-off from an informant. "Every day, we collect information about criminals to keep ourselves updated about their activities. If somebody is trapped in Bihar, we call our counterparts and seek details." Sharma's informers are a loyal lot. When he moved from one posting to another, they continued to keep in touch with him

Sharma rarely wears a police uniform and neither do members of his team. His team comprises three police inspectors and 14 constables. "Once I was in Bandra (in northwest Mumbai) when I got information that a notorious criminal would be going to Andheri, which is about 8 to 10 km away. My driver covered the distance in 13 minutes (a remarkable achievement considering the traffic in Mumbai) and we managed to eliminate that criminal. "Each member of my team is an expert in some field: weapons, driving, communication. I put their talent to good use.

The 'encounter' specialists are the poster boys of the Mumbai police force and attract a lot of attention. Their work has been reflected in films, the latest being Shimit Amin's Ab Tak Chappan. Along the way, human rights activists protested at the manner in which some innocent people were killed, either to settle personal scores or increase the body count. Allegations also surfaced that some police officers -- not Sharma -- were hand-in- glove with gangs and their complicity extended to murdering rival gangsters. After the voices of protest became too loud to ignore, the Mumbai police has curbed the activities of some of Sharma's fellow 'encounter' specialists

During his childhood in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, he used guns to protect his family's crops from thieves. His family later shifted to Dhule in Maharashtra. He joined the police force after obtaining a BSc in chemistry. What inspired him to do so is an interesting story. "My neighbour, Mr Pagare, was a police officer. He used to come home riding a motorcycle, sporting goggles (dark glasses). Impressed by his style, I decided to join the police force. At that time, I had not given a thought about the pay," he says. He credits former Maharashtra director general of police Arvind Inamdar for instilling in him a sense of discipline and duty, which is reflected in his work today. Undoubtedly, his life is fraught with risk, which his family is not entirely immune to. But he is unfazed. "What has to happen will happen. Why worry about that? The government is providing security to my family, I don't need to worry about them." "To my kids, I am a hero because they see my photograph in newspapers.

We Salute India’s Real Hero