The transformation story of the Kankhal-based property dealer Ashish Sharma alias Tully into a gangster is baffling, say police which have booked him under the Gangster Act and got his police remand from the court.
The senior police officers who are dealing with the case say that the transformation did not take place overnight. “He built up his empire brick by brick through large-scale investment in property matters. He gained aura in the world of the anti-socials as his name was dragged in many murders committed in the city. Besides, his close proximity to the dreaded gangster Sunil Rathi, who is now cooling his heels behind bars in Bagpat, Uttar Pradesh, added further to the awe he enjoyed in the underworld,” a police officer said.
Police said that Ashish Sharma’s rise as a leading property dealer in the city in just one year is startling. “Other property dealers were relegated to the background as he started calling the shots in property dealing. His fiefdom expanded beyond Kankhal to other parts of the district. We are convinced that he is the person who passed on the contact numbers and other details of the affluent people of Kankhal to Sunil Rathi to help the latter in extortion,” said a police officer.
Police said that he has not just extortion cases tagged to him but the murder case of Mahant Sudhir Giri. SSP Haridwar Krishna Kumar V K confirmed on Thursday that Tully has been taken on police remand for further questioning.