I’m being projected as a psycho killer; will not get bail: Stockbroker Pintu Sharma

Pintu Sharma put forward his arguments in court on Dec 6. Pic/Hanif Patel

Days after withdrawing all his vakalatnamas, infamous stockbroker of Vakola, Pintu Sharma appeared at the Vasai sessions court on Monday and put forth his arguments in the alleged murder of Ganesh Kolhatkar to defend himself. While in court he defended himself on a number of grounds and said that an incomplete and manipulative DNA report had been given to him, later he told mid-day that he was being projected as a ‘psycho killer' and being implicated in a false case.

The Arnala Coastal police had arrested Sharma in January 2019 in connection with the murder of Kolhatkar, who was allegedly hacked into pieces, which were then flushed down the toilet of a flat rented by the accused in Virar. Later, Sharma allegedly threw the bones from Kolhatkar's body into the Bhayandar creek, and the probe team could never recover them.

The cops learnt about the incident after the residents of Bachraj Paradise housing society of Virar West complained about choked pipelines and foul smell from their toilets. During repair work, the cleaning staff found multiple pieces of human flesh and the cops even recovered three fingers. There was a ring on one of the fingers, which was identified by Kolhatkar's sister Anagha Gokhale as his.

Ring found on a finger
Sharma: How did Anagha identify the ring? She lives in Pune and Kolhatkar lived alone in Mira Road. Anagha was only shown the image of the ring.

T-shirt recovered from Virar flat
Sharma: The police said in the charge sheet that I pinned him (Kolhatkar) to the floor, hit him on his head multiple times and he died on the spot. If anyone is beaten so mercilessly, his clothes will be stained with blood, but the forensic test did not find any bloodstains on his T-shirt recovered from the flat. And if the killer disposed of his body in the Bhayandar creek, then why did the person not throw away the T-shirt as well?

Why was the deceased at Virar flat?
Sharma: Kolhatkar's flat in Mira Road was in a complete mess. He told me that the relatives of a girl, with whom he was planning to get married, wanted to meet him. He asked me for help. I told him that he could meet the girl's relatives at my Virar flat.

Fake matrimonial account and Sharma's number
Sharma: Kolhatkar was desperate to get married and that was the reason why he got himself registered on a matrimonial site first on August 11, 2011. He paid Rs 1,895 but did not get a suitable match. He again paid R1,895 through cheque on January 15, 2012. He waited for two years and again paid R4,195 on February 28, 2014 and Rs 5,850 on December 31, 2014 through cheques. Though the women would chat with him on the site, they would never meet him in-person. Kolhatkar was upset over this and so he sought help to create a fake ID in the name of a woman. Since a mobile number is required at the time of registration, I offered to help him with my number."

DNA report
Sharma: It seems the DNA report given to me is incomplete and manipulative.

When he asked for the full DNA report, Additional Sessions Judge, Dr Deshpande said, "I can give you the certified copy which has been filed with us." He further suggested Sharma to engage a lawyer so that the proceedings were smooth. "If you don't engage a lawyer, I will have to get you two advocates under a law. They won't charge you anything," Dr. Deshpande told Sharma, who was prompt to react and said, "What will be their competency?"

To this, Dr. Deshpande said, "They will be experienced lawyers. The role of a judge is to analyse the evidence, not to collect it. You mean to say that the prosecution is trying to conceal the evidence?" Sharma further said, "You are the final authority, I am lodged in a jail, how will I get the evidence?"

Following this, Dr. Deshpande asked the prosecutor to call investigating officer Raju Mane to find out how many pages of the DNA report was submitted before the court. Inspector. Mane told mid-day, "All reports have been submitted. The DNA report matched."

‘Theory of lending money is completely false'

Speaking to mid-day post the court proceedings, Sharma said he might not get bail in the case as the police was projecting him as a ‘psycho killer'. "I have not killed anyone, and the theory of me lending money to Kolhatkar is completely false. I am a miser and do not lend money to anyone," Sharma added. "I have been falsely implicated in the case. One of the cops told me that the three fingers they recovered were of a woman's. The whole matter came to light after the recovery of the fingers, which were not found in my flat. They were found somewhere inside a gutter very far from my flat. Why didn't the police match the DNA sample of these fingers with Anagha Gokhale, who is Kolhatkar's blood sister? Why was his cousin Krishna Kolhatkar's blood sample taken for the DNA test?" Sharma asked.