GCER murder: Cops visit crime spot where woman was shot

Two police teams consisting of 15 police personnel on Sunday visited the crime spot where 26-year-old Pooja Sharma was shot in the head by three masked men during

Two police teams consisting of 15 police personnel on Sunday visited the crime spot where 26-year-old Pooja Sharma was shot in the head by three masked men during a suspected robbery attempt near Golf Course Extension Road on October 26. The victim died the next day while undergoing treatment at a private hospital, said the police.

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Despite six days having passed, the police are yet to make any headway in the case though they have questioned more than 200 suspects and history-sheeters. They have also scanned nearly 200 CCTV cameras of different locations, conducted technical surveillance and worked on dumped mobile data.

Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said that the special investigation team visited the crime spot on Sunday and questioned a few people and staff members of three liquor shops. “There are liquor shops close by and there are possibilities that the suspects might have stopped there to buy liquor. We have recovered a vital clue and are verifying the registration number of the suspect’s bike from three of the liquor shops,” he said.

The liquor shops are operational until midnight, so the teams have questioned more than 20 staff members from the shops to know if they happened to have seen any of the suspects or whether their faces were captured in the shop while buying liquor.

Sangwan said the motive of the murder is likely to be a failed robbery but they are looking at all possible angles, including old enmity. “The victim, Pooja Sharma, and her fiance, Sagar Manchanda, had left the Sector 31 market at around 8pm and they were shot at 11pm. As such, there is a slim chance of anybody following them. The location of the suspects as per CCTV camera is on the Golf Course Extension Road stretch and they were seen taking rounds,” he said.

Manchanda told the police that the suspects tried to open the car door multiple times and when they failed, they shot at both of them. Manchanda escaped unhurt while Sharma was hit in her head. They got scared as they were suddenly intercepted in their way and did not get a chance to flee from the spot. Sharma, who was driving the car, tried to speed away but got shot.

Sharma worked with an IT company in Sector 48 in medical claims and insurance department, while Manchanda is a software engineer from IIT-Roorkee. They were about to get married this year but due to lockdown their wedding was postponed, said the police. Sharma suffered one bullet injury in the head, which resulted in her death, said the police.