PANAJI
While the Goa Police had dispatched a team to Mumbai to locate the main accused in the Assagao house demolition case Pooja Sharma, she was hiding in Amritsar and Himachal Pradesh.
Sharma, a lawyer by profession, disclosed this herself as she applied for anticipatory bail before the Principal Sessions Court, catching the investigation team off guard.
In her six-page application filed through her lawyer in Goa, Sharma, described herself as a ‘peace-loving and law-abiding citizen’ while vehemently denying all allegations against her. She pleaded with the Court for relief, citing her responsibility towards her two minor children, who she claims are dependent on her constant presence.
“The applicant is not involved in any of the offenses alleged in the FIR or the complaint on which the FIR is based. The applicant has been wrongly implicated,” it stated. The Court has scheduled the matter for hearing on July 3 which is when the Special Investigation Team of the Crime Branch is also directed to submit the case diary.
Sharma, who holds an LLM degree and practiced law until ten years ago when she left the profession to focus on her family, maintained that she has not visited Goa since the beginning of this year.
Explaining that she is not involved in the matter, she further revealed about purchasing the 600 sq m property – now in controversy - from previous owners Chrys Pinto and Emerciana Pinto through a sale deed on August 5, 2023, which was registered with the Bardez Mamlatdar on September 8, 2023.
Interestingly, while Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and the police claimed to have sent a team to Mumbai to locate her, Sharma informed the Court that she had responded to summons notice from the Anjuna police stating she was not in Maharashtra. She requested a rescheduled appearance date after which there was no communication from the local police station.
In response to a fresh summons from the CB, Sharma clarified that she was not at her residence but in Amritsar/Himachal Pradesh at the time and requested the investigation officer to postpone the interrogation to the second week of July. She did not appear for questioning scheduled on July 1 indicating a pre-planned move.
In her application, she even indirectly hit out at the viral news wherein a civil matter has been given a criminal favour. “Applicant is not involved in any offense and she appears to be wrongly implicated in a truncated case,” the application reads.
