Tabla player held for harassing renowned vocalist’s daughter

The Versova police arrested a 19-year-old tabla player on Thursday for allegedly harassing the daughter of a renowned vocalist, a Padma Vibhushan awardee.

The Versova police arrested a 19-year-old tabla player on Thursday for allegedly harassing the daughter of a renowned vocalist, a Padma Vibhushan awardee. The accused, Shubham Sanjay Verma alias Swarnkar, a resident of Kandivli, first saw the victim at a musical function in 2009, said the police.

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Verma told the police that he was attracted to the 41-year-old and “he fell in love with her.” After trying to track her down for several months, Verma finally managed to get the landline number of the victim’s music company in Versova.

“He would ask the office staff to give him the victim’s mobile number. When they refused, he would hurl abuses at them,” said Raghunath Kadam, assistant police inspector at the Versova police station.

According to the police, Verma first called the victim on June 15 this year and expressed his feelings towards her. The victim tried to make Verma understand, but he refused to give up. “The accused started calling up the victim frequently and when his calls were not answered, he sent SMSes,” added Kadam.

After Verma realised that the victim was not reciprocating his feelings, he started using foul language and abusing her on the phone. Threatened by Verma’s behaviour, she approached the police.