Stalker made taekwondo player’s life hell, says sister

Sanjay Yadav

Gurugram, November 13

A day after national-level taekwondo player Sarita was shot dead by her stalker Sombir, her elder sister told mediapersons that Sarita was under constant threat from Sombir.

“She was under constant threat from him and even took up jobs in other cities like Jaipur and Shimla to escape him. But he traced her and harassed her there also. My father fell grievously ill and that brought Sarita back to Gurugram and her life became hell. She somehow knew that this ordeal would have a tragic end and thus came back to bear it rather than putting the family in danger. She had even filed a complaint with the Jaipur police,” said Sarita’s elder sister.

Sarita’s father had died after illness two months ago and Sombir had allegedly been harassing the family ever since.

Wearing a veil and refusing to divulge her name following instructions from her in-laws, she said that contrary to the police’s theory, Sombir Gulia was not a jilted lover but a psycho stalker who often claimed that he had been contracted for killing Sarita by some villagers.

“He would come home and create ruckus and say he was not interested in marrying but clipping off the wings of my sister. He used to say: ‘Maine iski supaari li hai’ and sought money from my father but we could not pay him. My mother and sister confined themselves to the house’s first floor and kept the ground floor locked. But he broke open the latches,” added Sarita’s sister.

The accused had visited Sarita’s home to condole the death of her father. While Sombir’s father has gone untraceable and switched off his phone, friends and cousins of Sombir, on the condition of anonymity, blamed the alleged treachery by Sarita’s family as key reason behind the crime.

“He was an introvert who became more withdrawn after his mother’s suicide. He and Sarita loved each other. We and every resident of Sarita’s village Bhoda Khurd knew that her family had even planned their marriage. There was secret ‘roka’ (engagement) too but they went back on their decision. Even the police know this. Sarita’s family ditched him for being poor,” alleged his cousin Randheer (name changed).

The police have constituted three teams to hunt for Sombir but to no avail so far. The police claim they are going through the entire evidence, including the call records of the victim and accused. But Sarita’s family is not satisfied with the investigation.

“She had three numbers where she had recorded evidence against him. We suspected that he would surely call on those numbers, but the police came here, took the phones and switched those off. We do not even have our lawyer’s number. The police did not act then, they are not doing it now,” alleged her sister.

The police investigation reveals Sombir was a jolly lad till 2012 when his mother allegedly immolated herself. This led to a family feud and he snapped all ties with the family.

"Sombir Gulia was not a jilted lover, but a psycho stalker who often claimed he had been contracted for killing Sarita by some villagers. He would come home and create ruckus."— Sarita’s sister 

‘Probing all angles’ 

"Three teams are on the job. A raid was conducted at the house of the accused on Wednesday, but he was not there. We got to know some whereabouts of Sombir and he will be arrested soon. The victim and accused knew each other. Their marriage proposal was being discussed. We are investigating the case from all angles."  Veer Singh, ACP, Pataudi