Shyam Karia, the most wanted man in the Ankit Desai murder case, always wanted to be a big spender. After his recent marriage, he dreamt of spending even more. He lacked the means.

So, when he was not helping father Kishore, a small-time Gujarati real-estate agent, Shyam, in his mid-twenties, would look for ways of making money. This proved to be the endgame of the college dropout, claim police.

?So far, as we have found out, Shyam played the key role in the murder of Ankit Desai. While he may have dabbled in small-time crime in the past, this was his first stab at serious crime,? said a senior Lake Town police station officer.

Kishore did not accept the charges brought against his son. ?He would be with me from 9 in the morning till 1 pm. We would again meet later at night. In between, I?m not sure of what he did. But believe me, I do not know where he has gone with his wife,? said Kishore.

The police, while looking for Ankit?s connections, first stumbled upon Shyam Karia?s name while grilling Hiren Vipani, twin of Hardik, who allegedly masterminded the murder. Hiren reportedly told police that Shyam would often turn up at their south Calcutta college and extort newcomers.

?Shyamda would sit in the college canteen with his accomplices and bully newcomers, sometimes forcing them to pay him cash ? anything between Rs 5 and Rs 10,000. No one would dare complain to the cops,? Hiren reportedly told police, since Kishore Karia used to be a traffic warden.

So, Shyam would flaunt his police ?connections? while threatening his victims. On October 15, he married a Punjabi girl from New Delhi.

Police claim that it was at their college that Shyam got to know Hardik and Ankit and over the months, became close to them. Going by the transaction slips recovered from Shyam?s Chittaranjan Avenue residence ? suggesting transfer of money between Ankit and Hardik ? police conjecture that between last July and December, Shyam played a role in helping Hardik recover around Rs 1.5 lakh in phases from Ankit.

The police claim Hardik broached his plans to Shyam on January 11. Six days later, when Hardik returned from Pune, Shyam was merely executing his brief by eliminating Ankit.