Gangster who loved flashy clothes, trained in martial arts gunned down in Dehradun

Jamshedpur: Gangster Vikram Sharma, who was gunned down in Dehradun, was a fitness enthusiast and projected the image of a clean businessman. Sharma, 54, also mentored dreaded gangster Akhilesh Singh and was accused in 20 criminal cases in Jamshedpur.
A resident of Ashiana Enclave in Mango, Sharma allegedly conspired to kill Ashish Dey, the co-owner of a prominent footwear brand, in 2007. His name featured in high-profile criminal cases in the city from 2002 onwards, including the murder of the trader Om Prakash Kabra in 2002.

In 2008, Sharma’s name featured behind the murder of Tata Steel security officer Jayram Singh in Bistupur, the killing of transporter Ashok Sharma at Keenan Stadium and the firing at former judge R P Ravi in Bistupur and local goon Ravi Chourasia in Sakchi.

In his early years, Sharma provided logistical support to Akhilesh’s gang and worked his way up to become the mastermind of the outfit between 2007 and 2017. “When Akhilesh acquired transportation contracts in several companies and started making investments in business ventures, differences started surfacing between them over financial transactions,” sources said.

As police pressure mounted, Sharma fled the city and kept hopping from hideout to hideout in New Delhi, Dehradun and Uttar Pradesh. He was arrested in 2017 in Dehradun in the Dey murder case. He was released on bail from the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi in 2021. In 2022, he was acquitted by a court in Jamshedpur in the Dey murder case for lack of evidence. Sharma started a low-profile life after his release, but his love for flashy clothes remained. A vegetarian, he spent long hours at the gym and was trained in martial arts.

“Over the years, Sharma had invested heavily in real estate, transportation and mining in Jharkhand, Delhi, Noida and Dehradun,” the source said.

East Singhbhum police did not comment on Sharma’s killing in Dehradun.