He’s the shadowy gangster chief suspect in the death of a public schoolboy who jumped from a luxury Thames-side apartment in a case which has gripped true crime fans globally… but he’s never been seen on camera…. until now
Never-before-seen surveillance footage of Virender Sharma, known as "Indian Dave", has been published for the first time, showing the notoriously camera-shy gangland enforcer who was the chief suspect in the death of teenager Zac Brettler. Brettler, 19, died after jumping from the fifth-floor window of Sharma's luxury Thames-side flat in November 2019, a case that gained global attention through Patrick Radden Keefe's best-selling book "London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City" and an upcoming television adaptation. The footage matters because Sharma, described as a violent debt collector and drug dealer, died of an overdose in December 2020 while under police investigation, meaning he was never charged and the true circumstances of Brettler's death may never be conclusively established.
Brettler, a public schoolboy from Maida Vale, had invented a fantasy persona as the son of a Russian oligarch worth £200 million, drawing in figures such as Sharma and Cambridge-educated entrepreneur Akbar Shamji, who introduced the pair. Messages sent by Sharma before Brettler's death referenced wanting £10 million from "the kid" and discussed cleaning blood and heating knives, while both men sustained injuries and bloodstains were found in the flat, fuelling suspicion Brettler jumped to escape harm rather than to end his life. Until now only one grainy image of Sharma had ever surfaced; the new videos, gathered by a private investigator examining his business dealings, show him posing as a legitimate businessman while meeting people he believed were Russian investors but who were in fact undercover investigators.
- New footage of gangster "Indian Dave", suspect in Zac Brettler's death, revealed
- Brettler, 19, fell from Sharma's Thames-side flat in November 2019
- Sharma died of overdose in 2020 before facing charges
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Sharma, an underworld figure nicknamed "Indian Dave", became the chief suspect in the death of Zac Brettler, a 19-year-old public schoolboy who fell from a fifth-floor flat beside the Thames in November 2019. The case drew huge international interest after it featured in Patrick Radden Keefe's best-selling book "London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City", with a television adaptation now in the works.
Brettler had invented a false identity for himself as the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, which drew him into contact with Sharma and another man, entrepreneur Akbar Shamji, who introduced them. Messages and evidence recovered after Brettler's death, including references to money demands and injuries sustained by both men, led some to question whether he jumped to escape a threat rather than to take his own life.
Sharma was never charged, having died of a drug overdose in December 2020 while still under police investigation, so the full circumstances of Brettler's death have never been established in court. He was also notoriously elusive, with only a single blurry photograph of him previously known to exist, which is why any new footage showing his face and activities is considered significant to those following the case.