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Delhi police deny Sharma
was in town on August 16

Onkar Singh in New Delhi

The Delhi police late on Tuesday evening denied that R K Sharma, a senior Indian Police Service officer and prime accused in the murder of Indian Express correspondent Shivani Bhatnagar, was in Delhi on August 16.

Much to the embarrassment of the capital's police force, which has been looking for Sharma since August 1 and has even announced a reward of Rs 50,000 for any information about his whereabouts, a news agency put out a report on Tuesday claiming that the fugitive IPS officer was at the Tis Hazari courts on August 16 to sign his legal papers.

The report also reproduced the affidavit signed by Sharma, which clearly indicates that Sharma was in Delhi on august 16.

Joint Commissioner of Police Umesh Katna said he had seen the report and there was no "truth in it, whatsoever."

But senior police officials, requesting anonymity, admitted that they were taken aback by the report. "If the report is true then the image of the Delhi police would take a beating and it would leave us looking like a bunch of fools," said one of them.

He said the crime branch is rechecking the details mentioned in the report.

R K Sharma's counsel Mohit Mathur, meanwhile, confirmed that his client was present in the Tis Hazari court complex on August 16. "The proof of his presence in Delhi that day can be found in Tis Hazari court records," he said.

Shivani Bhatnagar murder case: Complete coverage

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