Sushil Sharma

NEW DELHI, May 14: An internal note from the Delhi Police to the Home Ministry has said that the police failed to investigate a possible link between Sushil Sharma and Tanwar murder case.

The note says that there were some ``obvious clues'', which were not looked into, including the fact that ``two associates'' of Sharma's were close to Dr Tanwar, Sitaram Kesri's personal physician. Sushil Sharma, the prime accused in the Tandoor murder case, was the general secretary of the Youth Congress at the time of Dr Tanwar's murder.

The status report of the special investigation team (SIT) in the case sent by the Delhi Police Commissioner to the Union Home Ministry also states that Dr Tanwar had provided the death certificate for two associates of Sushil Sharma who died in the house of a politician. It says that the police ``failed'' to go into the cause of death. The report notes that Dr Tanwar also known to Sushil Sharma.

The police have also taken note of the similarities in the murders: the bodies of both the victims were chopped into pieces. Naina Sahani's body was chopped in a similar way as that of Dr Tanwar's dismembered body. The police are yet to question Sharma on the alleged links. During his interrogation in the Naina Sahani case, Sushil Sharma had tried to implicate some important Congress leaders.

The note also brings out the failure of the police to probe into another aspect of the murder which could have political ramifications. A key witness identified as Vijay Mehra, who was recently asked to take a lie detector/polygraph test ``feigned illness'' and got admission in Safdarjung hospital with the help of what the report terms as a ``powerful politician.'' However, in his statement made to the SIT during interrogation Mehra said that he ``suspected'' that some ``politicians`` were behind the murder.

The note adds that much will depend upon the DNA test being carried out in the government laboratory in Hyderabad where a similar test was carried out in the Naina Sahani case. The DNA test is being carried out on the samples of blood-stained cement recovered from the house of Ratnakar Mudgil (J-12 BK Dutt colony).

The note concludes that Dr Tanwar's wife's refusal to take the lie-detector test is significant since it was done under pressure. Kaveri Tanwar refused to take the polygraph test and told the police that she had been threatened. She refused to reveal who was making the threats. The note says that she has refused to cooperate with the police in the investigation.

The note states that despite the fact that the murder took place three-and- a-half years ago, the case has not been investigated ``properly''. It points out that people such as Sushil Sharma who should have been investigated have been left out of the probe.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.