Thane goon gets life term for attempted murder

THANE: The Kalyan sessions court on Wednesday sentenced a member of Suresh Pujari gang to life imprisonment for an attempted murder in 2010. The accused, Mirchu Sharma, had fired four bullets at Dharmendra Bajaj, a businessman.
Sharma allegedly worked for gangster Suresh Pujari and used to pass on information about local businessmen to Pujari’s gang, who would then extort money from them.
The sessions court sentenced Sharma in connection with an attempt on the life of businessman, Dharmendra Bajaj. The incident had taken place on September 9, 2010, when Bajaj (43) was at a restaurant in Nevali Naka when Sharma and two of his accomplices confronted him over an old dispute. Sharma then fired more than four bullets at Bajaj. A bullet hit Bajaj on his left shoulder, one on the left side of his stomach and another on the right side of the stomach.
After the incident, Sharma and his associates fled in a Santro car. The injured businessman was treated in Shridevi hospital where doctors removed four bullets from his body. The police eventually arrested Sharma and prosecuted him for the attempted murder. The Hill Line police in Ulhasnagar booked Sharma and two others for offences punishable under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 201 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code and section 37(1) of the Arms Act.
The prosecution examined nine witnesses, including the victim who is the key witness, to establish the guilt of the accused. Based on medical evidence, the CSFL report, and the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses, additional sessions judge HG Waghmare convicted Mirchu Sharma for attempt to murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Ashwini Patil-Bhamare, assistant public prosecutor, said that the court’s decision was based on the evidence presented by the prosecution, including medical reports and the forensic science laboratory reports.
Sharma was involved in several similar cases in the last two decades. In 2018, Omprakash Talreja, a businessman from Kalyan, was threatened by Suresh Pujari who demanded a sum of ₹50 lakh and threatened to kill Talreja’s son if the payment was not made. Talreja reported the threat to the anti-extortion squad in Thane. During the investigation, it was discovered that it was Mirchu Sharma who was supplying information of businessmen in the area to Pujari and, so, he was arrested in that case as well.