The alleged front man of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim may have mingled with politicians, enjoyed his liquor and his women, had a penchant for foreign cars and South Delhi houses, but the squabbling investigating agencies seem to be clutching at straws, at least for now.

The 18-page order issued by Commissioner of Police V.N. Singh for Sharma's detention under NSA mentions his alleged links with politicians like Laloo Yadav, Om Prakash Chautala, Devi Lal and Rajiv Gandhi. There is also a mention of Sharma's alleged links with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, his brother Anis Ibrahim and his aides Abu Salem and Irfan Goga.

The document describes Sharma as a man who grabbed land, indulged in flesh trade and was a front for Dawood's activities in Delhi. The last being substantiated by conversations recorded on seven cassettes allegedly between Sharma and Abu Salem.

Initially the Hauz Khas police claimed to have recovered 250 cassettes from Sharma's C-30 Mayfair Gardens residence, which they raided on October 20. At that time, the police said: ``About 60 cassettes have objectionable visuals. It appears that Sharma used the video recordings to blackmail women who fell in his trap.'' The other cassettes include prints of commercial Hindi films, Sharma's election speeches and rallies of prominent politicians, according to the police.

But now that the tapes have changed hands, their content seems to have changed too. There are 17, not 250 cassettes, which are currently with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). DCP (South) Pradeep Srivastava, while admitting that he hasn't seen the tapes, said: ``They have been handed over to the CBI. My men who have seen the tapes said that there are all of his rallies. There is nothing of any parties, political leaders or women''.

The police would like to get Sharma for rape. Hauz Khas Station House Officer (SHO) H.M. Bakshi even admitted as much as rape is a non-bailable offence. Joint Commissioner Amod Kanth spoke about Sharma's 12 women at a recent press conference. But the women themselves have kept away from the police station.

Yes, Sharma did grab property. In fact, the police claim to have a list of 32 houses 21 in Delhi, six in Mumbai, four in Uttar Pradesh and one in Haryana and say that they are trying to determine the ownership. But the only cases that have been settled are those of people who approached the courts. A south Delhi resident who recently got his house free of Sharma and his goons said that he had to approach the courts after the Malviya Nagar police refused to help him. Instead, he claims, the police worked against him, supplying information to Sharma's men.

The alleged Dawood man apparently helped arrange a passport for the don's mother Amina Bi Kaskar and helped his sister-in-law Savia Sheikh move to Delhi when there was an Interpol red alert for her. The police claim that Savia lived at C-31, Hauz Khas, which is located right opposite the police station, for a few months before returning to Dubai. However, till date, they haven't been able to verify the ownership of the house.

While the different investigating agencies are running around in large, concentric circles, they often stop to squabble with each other. The Delhi Police and Crime Branch have battled it out in court. Income Tax officials say they were the first on the job and that the CBI approached them three months ago for help on Sharma. The I-T men are peeved that that CBI subsequently failed to act on their information. Meanwhile, the CBI claims they did all the initial spadework and that the Delhi Police stole their thunder by conducting the first raid on Sharma's Mayfair Gardens residence.