No, IPS Ajay Pal Sharma Has Not Been Transferred to West Bengal for Five Years

There are no credible sources to corroborate the claim that IPS Ajay Pal Sharma was transferred to West Bengal.

Social media users are sharing posts with the misleading claim that IPS Ajay Pal Sharma, known as an 'encounter specialist', has been transferred to West Bengal for five years.

(Source: Altered by The Quint)

Following the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) victory in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, a post about an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer's transfer is being widely shared on social media.

What does it say?: One of the posts reads, "The MHA has ordered the transfer of IPS Ajay Pal Sharma to West Bengal on deputation for the next five years. Widely recognised as an "encounter specialist" with a background as a dentist before joining the IPS... (sic)."

• News organisation Dainik Jagran also published a report sharing this claim.

An archived version of this report can be seen here.

(Source: Dainik Jagran/Screenshot)

The Quint also received a query to verify this claim on its WhatsApp tipline.

(Archived versions of more posts sharing this claim can be seen here and here.)

But...?: There are no credible sources to support this claim.

• Sharma was temporarily transferred to West Bengal during the elections a a police observer, not for five years by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as claimed.

How did we find out the truth?: A keyword search for Sharma's name, supplemented with 'transfer' led us to several news reports, including this one by NDTV, said that the IPS had been deputed to West Bengal by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

• It added that Sharma, dubbed an "encounter specialist" had been sent to the South 24 Parganas as a police observer by the ECI ahead of the second phase of polling.

The report, published on 28 April, said that Sharma was sent as a police observer.

(Source: NDTV/Screenshot)

The Trinamool Congress, too, had shared a post about Sharma in April 2026, which also noted that he was a police observer in the South 24 Parganas during the elections.

A closer search revealed that the claim originated from an X account on 4 May, which followed up the main post with a reply stating that it was "satire."

Did the Home Ministry transfer him?: We went to the website of the MHA, which publishes notices of transfer of officers each month.

• The latest list available was from April 2026, which did not carry Sharma's name.

The notice does not carry Sharma's name.

(Source: MHA/Screenshot)

• We have reached out to the MHA to verify whether Sharma's transfer was initiated or announce in May 2026 and will update this report with their response, if and when we receive it.

Conclusion: Posts claiming that IPS Ajay Pal Sharma has been transferred to West Bengal for five years are misleading.

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