Stockbroker, who allegedly killed friend, sacks lawyer; to argue in court for own bail

Pintu Sharma (in white) allegedly killed Ganesh Kolhatkar, tore the flesh off his bones, then chopped it into pieces and flushed them down the toilet. Pic/Hanif Patel

Pintu Sharma, who allegedly killed Ganesh Kolhatkar and disposed of his body after chopping it into pieces in 2019, appeared in-person at Vasai Sessions court to argue his bail plea. mid-day spent the day in court for the hearing, observing Sharma, as he calmly listened to the arguments of the prosecutor, who said there was ample evidence to prove his role in the murder.

Surrounded by Thane prison staff, Sharma, donning a white shirt, black pants and black sandal like a counsel, walked into the Vasai courtroom of Sessions Judge Dr Sudhir Deshpande at 11.40 am on Wednesday. Holding his case files, with fluorescent sticky notes poking out from pages for easy access, Sharma's body language reflected no remorse for his alleged horrendous crime. Instead, he exuded confidence while responding to the judge in a mix of English and Hindi languages. In the courtroom, he pulled out a ball pen from his chest pocket and undersigned a few documents before the hearing for his bail plea started.

Ganesh Kolhatkar, the victim

mid-day spoke to Sharma on the charges later, and he said, "It is the job of the police to level allegations, but it depends on your competency to defend yourself."

Sharma has withdrawn all the vakalatnamas from advocates in high court and the Sessions court. "The lawyers in HC had been misrepresenting facts in the court. So I lost faith in them and withdrew all my vakalatnamas. I am capable enough to attend the hearing in-person and argue in the court for my case. I have faith in the judiciary," he told mid-day.

Bachraj Paradise, Virar West, where Ganesh Kolhatkar was murdered

When asked if he has in-depth knowledge of law, he said, "I am not from a legal background…I am simply a graduate." A vakalatnama is a document filed by a client allowing advocate(s) to appear on their behalf.

Killed on Jan 16, 2019

Arnala Coastal police in 2019 arrested Sharma, a Vakola-based share trader, for allegedly killing Kolhatkar, 58, on January 16. He had pulled apart the flesh off his bones, chopped it into nearly 400 pieces and flushed them down the toilet, and dumped the bones in Bhayandar creek.

A CCTV camera screengrab shows victim leaving his Mira Road flat on Jan 16. The T-shirt he is seen wearing was found in Pintu's Virar flat. Pics/Hanif Patel

The crime took place in the bathroom of Sharma's rented flat on the sixth floor of Bachraj Paradise's C-Wing in Virar West. The case unravelled after residents complained of choked drainage and the drain was opened for repair. He has been lodged at Thane Central jail since 2019.

Sharma, whose father Jaykishan worked in the BMC, lived with his wife Purnima and two sons in Vakola, Santacruz East, and had also rented a flat in Virar. Kolhatkar was unmarried and ran a printing press in Mira Road.

The fake matrimonial account allegedly created by Pintu Sharma

Prosecutor Jayprakash Patil submitted a detailed FIR and investigation report cum charge sheet before the court, showing the prima facie involvement of Sharma in the murder.

DNA matches

"The DNA of the fingers [found in the drain] matched with the samples taken from Kolhatkar's blood relative," Patil told the court.

Pintu Sharma. File pic

Police had also collected samples from a bloodstained hammer, two small and one big hacksaw blades, a screwdriver and pair of pliers found in Sharma's rented flat. "These blood samples proved to be of a human being," he added.

"A few months after befriending Kolhatkar, Sharma lent him Rs 1 lakh, but got back only R40,000. Kolhatkar kept him hanging for the remaining amount," said an officer who was part of the initial probe.

Patil told the court, "On January 16, Sharma and Kolhatkar had a heated argument over the unpaid amount of R60,000. Sharma banged Kolhatkar's head on the floor and he died on the spot."

During the investigation, it was also found that "after removing the flesh and chopping it into micro pieces, Sharma returned to his family in Vakola in the evening. He spent every night at his Vakola home until he disposed of the body," said the officer.

The T-shirt

"Thereafter, he sanitised the floor, but when we opened the flat, we recovered the T-shirt that Kolhatkar was seen wearing on January 16 while entering Bachraj Paradise," reads the charge sheet.

Patil told the court that the history of Sharma's cell phone showed that he watched multiple YouTube videos about ‘how to do a post-mortem?', ‘how to dispose of a body?', etc.

Kolhatkar's sister Anagha Gokhale, who had alleged that Sharma had created a fake matrimonial profile of a woman, Vanita Agarwal, to trap him, told mid-day, "I spoke to my brother last on January 16 morning and he told me that he was going to Virar meet a relative of Vanita Agarwal whom he was planning to marry. I tried calling him, but his phone was switched off."

"Next day, I called again and someone else picked up the phone. Pretending to be a woman, the person told me to forget my brother and stay away from him," she added.

"Pintu Sharma would always visit my brother's house in Mira Road and pretend to be Vanita's close relative. On January 16, Sharma had come to Mira Road to rake my brother shopping in Virar and arrange a meeting with Vanita," she told mid-day.

The investigating team had written to the matrimonial site to retrieve the details of Vanita Agarwal's account and "the mobile number registered with the account belonged to Pintu Sharma," Patil told the court.

Ample evidence

"There are ample technical evidence against Sharma to prove his role in the murder, including CCTV camera footage of Bachraj Paradise from January 16, statements of its watchmen, DNA matches of fingers and bloodstained weapons used to dismember the body, registered mobile number of Pintu Sharma on Vanita Agarwal's matrimonial site's account, etc," Patil told the court.

Citing Sharma's criminal past, Patil told court about the kidnapping of one LIC executive, Arvind Ranade, who was never found. Waliv police had booked Sharma for kidnapping and arrested him. However, he got bail due to lack of evidence.

When mid-day asked Sharma about the kidnapping case, he said, "At present I am focusing on the case registered against me at Arnala Coastal police station."

In 2019, mid-day published a series of reports on the murder, with details, which Patil read out from the pages of an FIR copy and charge sheet.

The court will hear Sharma on December 6.

Sharma had applied for bail in the Bombay High Court, but withdrew his vakalatnama later. The HC directed the additional sessions court to expedite his bail hearing.

Sharma's wife Purnima said it has become difficult to run the house. "I have been working as a cook nearby to earn a livelihood... People know that my husband has been falsely implicated in this case, so they allowed me to work at their house."

Jan 16
Day in 2019 when Ganesh Kolhatkar was killed