Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has landed in a controversy after a video of him "threatening" a woman police officer who was cracking down on illegal excavation in Solapur has gone viral.

In his defence, Pawar said he was only trying to prevent an escalation in the situation on the ground and had no intention of "interfering" with law enforcement.

In a video, 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.

Krishna is originally from Kerala and was posted to Maharashtra recently.

She was handed a phone by an NCP worker and told Pawar was on the line. The officer did not recognise Pawar's voice and asked him to call her on her cellphone.

"Mai tere upar action lunga (I will act against you)," Pawar was heard telling 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?)."

"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 slammed 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.

As the issue started to get traction, Pawar took to X on Friday afternoon and issued a clarification. He said he remains committed 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.

"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 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," Tatkare said.