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Television show puts AP cops on the trail of alleged killer

Ch Sushil Rao in Hyderabad

He thought he was finally safe, away from where people knew him for what he was, but a television programme featuring him as one of the most wanted criminals in the country has Deepak Sharma on the run again.

Sharma, 30, is from Uttar Pradesh, and has allegedly been involved in as many as 60 murders. He came to Hyderabad three months ago and lived in the Neredmet area of Malkajgiri, on the periphery of the city.

The residents of Kalyanpuri colony where he had rented a house knew nothing of his antecedents till last Tuesday, when they saw a television programme on Zee TV describing him as one of the country's "most wanted" criminals.

The neighbours discussed the matter in hushed tones after the programme ended at 2130 hours. By 2330 hours, when the police came in, Sharma had already disappeared.

"If only we were informed about him immediately after the programme, we would definitely have been able to lay our hands on him," Deputy Superintendent of Police, Malkajgiri, T Satyanarayana told Rediff On The Net today. The police received information about Sharma staying in the locality only at 2330 hours. But the police assert they are hot on his trail now.

"I cannot divulge information about his whereabouts at this stage since investigations are still on, but I can say for sure that if a little bit of luck is on our side, we may soon catch him," Satyanarayana said.

Sharma, who called himself Rajendra Kumar Vashist, had put his occupation as "crime reporter" with the central government on his name plate.

The neighbours are still too shaky to discuss the matter.

"He was a very sophisticated man. Nobody would suspect that he was a wanted criminal," was all a resident of the locality would say. And that Sharma's wife has recently delivered a baby.

The police have found some `definite clues' in the house about Sharma and they hope they will be able to track down the criminal soon.

Sharma reportedly began his criminal activities in 1990, drawing police attention after he shot dead a Bharatiya Janata Party politician in Muzzafarnagar in a daylight operation because he was the political rival of his mentor. Sharma also shot the victim's 17-year-old son.

When the police caught up with him, Sharma did not think twice shooting down one of them, Pritam Singh. He later killed a lottery shop owner, Hemant because he would not part with his money. When he was finally caught in January 1996, he jumped bail and went back to murder for a living, claiming lives in Hardwar, Dehradun, Muzafarnagar and Meerut.

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