Husband of missing New Westminster woman was charged with threatening wife last month

The BC Prosecution Service has confirmed that Rishi Deo Sharma, the husband of missing New Westminster woman Nirla Sharma, was charged with uttering threats to his wife about a month before she disappeared from their home on Feb. 23.

“I can confirm that a Rishi Deo Sharma is charged … with uttering threats to Nirla Sharma on Jan. 25,” B.C. Prosecution Service spokesman Dan McLaughlin said in an email.

McLaughlin added that Rishi Deo Sharma was also charged with three counts of breach and later released on bail.

“That matter is next in court on March 4,” he said.

Meanwhile, the couple’s daughter Vanessa Sharma has taken to social media to vouch for her father.

“My father has been worried and more hurt then any of us,” Vanessa Sharma said in an Instagram post.

“My father has absolutely nothing to do with my mother’s disappearance. My mother was the love of my father’s life. He would do anything for her and he wants nothing but to have her home safe.”

Black Press Media has reached out to New Westminster police for an update on the investigation.

Nirla Sharma, 44, was last seen at her family home in the 300-block of Lawrence Street at about 9 p.m. on Feb. 23. In a release, police said she was last seen wearing pink pyjamas with a pink T-shirt and had gone to bed.

However, a family member told police they heard the front door chime activate at roughly 4 a.m. on Feb. 23. Sharma typically arrives at work in Vancouver at 6:30 a.m., but did not attend that morning.

The disappearance is being treated as high-risk and the case is being handled by major crime investigators.

Sharma is described as South Asian, roughly five-foot-three with a slim build and weighing about 138 pounds. She has short, black hair and brown eyes.

Sharma also has a tattoo on her left arm, of an Om symbol, and another tattoo of a crown on her right wrist, as well as a rose on her tailbone and a design on her left ankle.

Below are photos of missing person Nirla Sharma as well as photos of clothing she may have been wearing at the time of her disappearance. Full story here: https://t.co/VfnbDP0typ #NewWest pic.twitter.com/I6p9EFWPk1

— New West Police (@NewWestPD) February 27, 2020