A dossier on Sharma is being prepared and, sources said, it already records at least five serious offences varying from land grabbing to murder to forgery. Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Satish Mathur of STF, CBI, is gathering information on all the properties occupied forcibly by Sharma.

And what is emerging out of old police files and collectorate's dusty land records is a tale of greed, cheating and even violence.

Beginning his crime career with underworld don, Vardharajan Mudaliar, Sharma was quick to learn the ropes. So quick that he usurped the first flat that he occupied as a paying guest in 1971. It was a small apartment near Mehboob Studio at Bandra and a complaint was lodged in this connection with the Bandra police.

Sharma soon moved on to biggerthings. In 1982 he rented a terrace flat at Sant Sadan at Union Park, Pali Hill, and grabbed it with the help of Mudaliar's men. The case is pending in the civil court.

By late eighties Sharma had already graduated to bungalows. Unit VII of the crime branch raided a bungalow occupied by Sharma behind the Sun-n-Sand Hotel in 1989. The police dossier says that though Sharma managed to escape, the raiding party succeeded in seizing several imported weapons and arrested Dawood Ibrahim's aide, Bacchi Pandey. The two-storied Juhu Bungalow is a sprawling piece of real estate spread over an area of an acre and a half and is currently occupied by Sharma's cousin Harish Sharma.

A short distance away from this property is another bungalow on Turner Road, plot no 507 named Jai Mata Kutir. This bungalow too is currently under Sharma's possession. However, a document of both the properties prepared by the suburban collector's office indicate that both the properties are illegally occupied. The report says while plotno 507 behind Sun-n-Sand is originally owned by a certain Stanislaus Almeda, Jai Mata Kutir belongs to admiral Radhakrishna Tahiliani and Vasantrai Dave.

The report also accuses Sharma of forgery and making bogus documents to transfer the title of Jai Mata Kutir bungalow under his name. The bungalow has two telephone lines, several imported cars parked in the portico and is guarded by a certain Pratap Narayan Tiwari.

Another case against Sharma was filed as recently as June this year at Juhu police station when one of the directors of Sea Rock Hotel, S B Luthria, lodged a complaint saying he was receiving threatening calls from Romesh Sharma and Anis Ibrahim. The police tapped Luthria's phones and traced the calls to Dubai and Delhi number. The Delhi number was that of Sharma's residence.

The police files have also linked Sharma to smugglers. The list begins with one Anand Raut with whom Sharma was involved in gold smuggling in the late eighties. Sharma's links with Dawood Ibrahim, Abu Salem and ChhotaShakeel are also being probed. "