Special team to trace Dubai link of Sharma

NEW DELHI, October 23: A special team of the Delhi Police's crime branch has been formed to investigate Romesh Sharma's Dubai connections...

NEW DELHI, October 23: A special team of the Delhi Police’s crime branch has been formed to investigate Romesh Sharma’s Dubai connections. Hauz Khas police sources said that during interrogation this evening, it became evident that Sharma had links with Dawood Ibrahim. The relationship had begun with a small assignment involving a plot of land in Mumbai a few years ago.

The special team today detained Sharma’s associates Vinod Luthra (whose house in Srinivaspuri was raided on Tuesday) and Arvind Bali for interrogation.

Sharma’s fourth day in custody heightened speculation about his contacts across the Indian political diaspora. The unofficial list of visitors to his Chattarpur farmhouse and Mayfair Gardens residence lengthened by the hour to include a former prime minister and the leader of a Haryana party. For spice, the names of a few film actors and actresses were thrown in but officials refused to comment.

Story continues below this ad

Another fallout of the arrest of Sharma is that the Mehrauli police has begun to act on the FIR that M.K. Subba, MP, had filed against him more than seven weeks ago. The raid on Sharma’s establishments, the police say, has provided documentation sufficient to make progress on disputed Chattarpur farmhouse case.

Subba’s FIR states he had “given the basement of the farmhouse to Romesh Sharma for a license fee of Rs 2,000 in December 1990. Sharma has not paid the amount ever since. Last month, when my employee Alok Pandya visited the farmhouse, Sharma’s guard beat him up and said that his master had taken over ownership…Sharma forged my wife Karma Kamu’s signature on the registration papers”.

Another FIR, lodged with the Hauz Khas police by Palam Vihar-resident Sanjay Sabharwal yesterday alleges: “Romesh Sharma, through deceit and manipulation, illegally confined me at his residence, tortured me, blackmailed me and forced me to sign documents of my property in his favour. He along with his accomplice succeeded in grabbing my property at Regal building in Connaught Place”.