Anuj Chaudhary was no ordinary recruit when he joined Uttar Pradesh police . Having represented India at the 2004 Athens Olympics, the wrestler came into public service with coveted laurels such as the Arjuna award to his name.

However, unlike many other athletes, who fade into obscurity in pen-pusher sarkari jobs after they retire from sports, Chaudhary has exploded into the public limelight. As the top police officer of Sambhal, the town that has become Hindutva’s latest battleground in Uttar Pradesh, Chaudhary has acquired the reputation of a larger-than-life cop, one who enjoys the blessings of Chief Minister Adityanath.

But Chaudhary does not draw his power from Lucknow alone. On Instagram, where he has over seven lakh followers, he blends machismo and Hindutva, posting workout reels as well as videos of himself worshipping in Sambhal’s temples.

The effects of his online muscle-flexing have spilled over into the sensitive ground reality of communally-charged Sambhal, which witnessed deadly over a court-ordered archaeological survey of the town’s Mughal-era mosque in November. During both the violence and , Muslim residents have felt antagonised by what they see as the police officer’s partisanship.

Chaudhary is a deputy superintendent of police. He is posted as a circle officer in Sambhal town, covering four of the district’s...