Romesh Sharma, alleged frontman of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, was convicted by a Delhi court on Friday for hatching conspiracy to murder his fashion designer girlfriend Kunjum Budhiraja.
Five others including his nephew Surinder Mishra, Hemchand, Santram, Ramesh and woman accused Tejinder Virdi alias Dolly were also found guilty for conspiring to eliminate Budhiraja. They were convicted under section 302 and 120-B of Indian Penal Code.
The court fixed February 18 for hearing arguments on quantum of sentence. Another woman accused Jaspreet Virdi alias Sonu was acquitted for want of evidence.
While pronouncing the verdict against Sharma, Additional Sessions Judge S P Garg said, “I am convicting you for hatching the conspiracy to murder Budhiraja”. The judge, who acquitted Virdi, said “there is no evidence against her”.
Delhi Police had chargesheeted 10 persons for the murder of Budhiraja, who was stabbed to death at Sharma’s farm house in South Delhi on March 20, 1999.
Four accused—Devender, Ganga Ram, Sudesh and Rakesh—were declared as offenders in the case.
Sharma had hatched the conspiracy to kill 29-year-old Budhiraja while he was in judicial custody in Tihar jail in connection with other cases registered against him. He is facing trial in 16 other cases including that of intimidation, property-grabbing and cheating.
Sharma’s nephew had taken the victim to his farmhouse under the pretext of offering ‘puja’ where she was stabbed to death by a group of hired gangsters from Uttar Pradesh.
All of them were charged under various sections of the IPC including 302 (murder), 506 (criminal intimidation), 114 (abatement) and 120B (conspiracy).
The prosecution, during the trial, tried to establish that Dolly and Sonu had gone to meet Sharma at Tihar Jail and got the keys of his farm house.
The accused ensured that the victim visited the farm house where the UP-based hired criminals — Hemchand, Ramesh and Santram— attacked her, it said. It has been alleged that Sharma, in jail since September 1998, had actively participated in the conspiracy leading to the murder of his girlfriend.
