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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, DEC 17: In what could be a severe setback to the Romesh Sharma case, some 8220;vital8221; police documents pointing to Sharma8217;s alleged links with Dawood Ibrahim and the latter8217;s Delhi-based henchman Chhota Shakeel have gone 8220;missing8221;. CBI officials have pressed the panic button and fingers are being pointed at the city police, as the file containing these details was in its custody.
The fact that the crucial file went missing just days after Union Home Minister L K Advani directed the investigators to crack down on Sharma8217;s alleged nexus with police, politicians and bureaucrats, has left many with red faces.
The missing documents, sources said, were related to the seizure of 10 kilograms of RDX from Chota Shakeel8217;s Khirki Village farmhouse in early 1996.
The subsequent chargesheet filed in a Delhi court did not mention Romesh Sharma at all, but Advani is unconvinced by the questionable clean chit given to Sharma by the city police then.
In fact, he repeatedly told CBI Director Trinath Mishrathat the missing pieces of the puzzle could be found in the Khirki village matter. This is because the documents and material collected from the raid are said to have details of the alleged Sharma-Shakeel-Dawood linkage, but for reasons best known to itself, the city police went out of its way in shielding Sharma.
Shakeel8217;s name, thus, did not figure even once in the chargesheet. But the seizure documents, which also contained police investigation reports in the matter and other material which was kept out the chargesheet, was always with the Delhi Police8211;till the CBI tried to get their hands on it, three days ago.
The CBI sleuths are now stuck with not one, but two missing files concerning Romesh Sharma. The first file, containing details of hurried issuaunce of passport to Dawood8217;s mother Ameena Bi, is still missing from the records of External Affairs Minister, even though five of its officials were questioned recently by the CBI.
In another development, a CBI team is leaving for Ambala to gathermore information in the second Arms Act case that Sharma now find himself to be involved in. It was recently discovered that the accused, while procuring a revolver license from Ambala few years ago, had given a fake address to the authorities.
The CBI is now zeroing in on those who are suspected to have helped Sharma procure the weapon through illegal means. A team from New Delhi is likely to reach Ambala within 48 hours.
