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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, November 15: Romesh Sharma’s life may make a great movie plot, but for his victims it is a story of terror. Businessmen Sanjay Sabharwal still plays in his mind what he calls the unending nightmare that continues to terrorise him after his first meeting with Sharma. Today, he lives in a modest house in Palam Vihar with his mother, surrounded by armed policemen. His ailing father died three months ago and his wife and 11-month-old son have left him, fearing for their life and sanity.
According to Sabharwal, in 1991, he was forced to sell his house in Anand Niketan after he ran up large debts in his leather export business. Among the brokers who arrived to look at his house was a neighbour, T.R. Anand, who, it was discovered later, was an accomplice of Sharma. The deal was struck for Rs 95.60 lakh and Anand paid a token amount of Rs 1.50 lakh. Sabharwal claims he was paid another Rs 4 lakh after a year, and then all payments stopped.
Stranded without a home, Sabharwal had to sell his factory to make a down payment for a house in Palam Vihar. He began looking for someone to help him. Meanwhile, because of his persistence, Anand gave Sabharwal two office cabins in Regal Building in Connaught Place, two cars and a rented house in Faridabad in lieu of the money. It was at this time that an acquaintance introduced Sabharwal to Sharma.
“I was totally taken in by his assurances that all will be well soon,” says Sabharwal, pacing with paranoid energy in his drawing room. “Instead, I have lost everything, my house, my factory and my family. But I am not afraid, even if it costs me my life, I am going to see this through,” he says determinedly.
Sabharwal’s story is a sinister tale of deceit and terror. After befriending Sabharwal and assessing his worth, Sharma began pressurising him to hand over his properties to him. When threats of violence failed, Sabharwal claims Sharma produced pictures of his wife in compromising positions with him. (Delhi Police, however, disclaim this saying they have not found any evidence of the relationship).
His family destroyed, Sabharwal continued to pursue Sharma who had taken away his car and other moveables, and it was at one such heated meeting in Sharma’s house that Sabharwal was thrown into the basement and confined for 10 months.
Sanjay Sabharwal’s account of his captivity in Sharma’s house is almost fantastical. According to the FIR report, he was beaten with hockey sticks, was kept without food for days, could not sleep many nights because of the helpless shrieks of girls being raped, and raucous parties. He says he would have been eliminated, if not for his miraculous escape on New Year’s Eve. He simply walked out of the gate when the staff was busy with preparations and didn’t dare turn back.
Sabharwal says the Delhi Police were unsympathetic and refused to even lodge his complaint, whether it was about his property or his illegal confinement. “The SHO of Connaught Place curtly told me my complaint was `general in nature’ even Additional Commissioner Crime B.K. Gupta threw the copy of complaint in my face saying there was nothing. I can now believe Sharma was right when he said no one could touch him because of his connections”.
Despite his pleas to the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister, it was only when Sharma’s arrest hit the headlines that Sabharwal felt there was hope for him.
Today, he has 24-hour armed security from both the Delhi and Haryana Police (he has turned an approver), but he continues to live in captivity, and in fear of an attempt on his life. “All this happened because I decided to sell my house one day,” he says.
