A sessions court in Bhuj has issued an arrest warrant against former IPS officer and ex-Director General of Police Kuldeep Sharma after he failed to surrender following his recent conviction in a decades-old criminal case.
The case stems from an incident in 1984, when Sharma was serving as Superintendent of Police in Kutch. He was accused of assaulting senior Congress leader Abdul Haji Ibrahim, popularly known as Ibhla Sheth, inside his office.
Recently, the court found Sharma guilty under Section 342 of the Indian Penal Code for wrongful confinement, sentencing him to three months of simple imprisonment and imposing a fine of Rs 1,000. Former police inspector Girish Vasavda was also convicted in the case. Both men, however, were acquitted of other charges such as voluntarily causing hurt, intentional insult and criminal intimidation due to lack of conclusive evidence.
The complaint, originally filed in May 1984 by Shankar Joshi, stated that a delegation had gone to meet Sharma over allegations of harassment by the Naliya police. Sharma allegedly demanded the names of the delegates and, upon hearing Haji&rsquo;s name, became furious. He reportedly ordered the others out, assaulted Haji with a stick and wrongfully detained him in his office.
While the court did not find sufficient proof of assault, it ruled that the evidence established wrongful confinement carried out jointly by Sharma and Vasavda.
The legal battle dragged on for nearly four decades. Sharma had previously moved the Gujarat High Court to quash the case, arguing that the required government sanction had not been obtained. The sanction eventually came in 2012, 28 years after the incident. Sharma then challenged it in multiple courts, including the Supreme Court, which directed the Bhuj court to expedite the trial.
Despite his conviction, Sharma did not surrender. Expressing displeasure over his defiance, the sessions court issued an arrest warrant to ensure the execution of his sentence.
Kuldeep Sharma, who joined the IPS in 1976, rose to become Gujarat&rsquo;s Director General of Police and retired in 2014. He had earlier faced scrutiny in connection with the Sohrabuddin Sheikh alleged fake encounter case.

Guj Court Orders Arrest of Ex-DGP Kuldeep Sharma

Former IPS officer faces arrest after skipping surrender in 1984 case

Guj Court Orders Arrest of Ex-DGP Kuldeep Sharma

Former IPS officer faces arrest after skipping surrender in 1984 case

October 10, 2025 | 20:48 IST