Lucknow, Oct 20 (PTI) Three persons, including the main accused, model Shraddha Dubey, allegedly involved in the death of Lucknow cafe owner Shiva Sharma, were arrested on Tuesday in Nagpur, officials said here.
Dubey, her driver Danish and sister Rashmi Dubey, carrying a reward of Rs 50 thousand each, were arrested by the police and special task force team in Nagpur, they said, adding that the three will be brought to Lucknow on Transit remand.
The case has attracted attention amid allegations by Sharma’s family that he was assaulted and tortured before being thrown from an apartment building on October 9.
Police initially treated the incident as an accidental death but subsequently registered a murder case following the family’s allegations.
Dubey, 31, a fashion model, has been on the run since Sharma, 28, allegedly fell from the balcony of an apartment in the Balu Adda area under Hazratganj police station on October 9.
Her sister Rashmi Dubey, their driver Tanvir Ali alias Danish and two other people have also been booked in the case. Police had announced a reward of Rs 50,000 each for information leading to the arrest of Shraddha, Rashmi and Danish.
In videos circulated on social media, Shraddha has denied involvement in Sharma’s death and claimed that he jumped from the balcony after going into a bathroom at her residence. She has also alleged that he was under a debt of Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20 lakh and had threatened to end his life if he failed to repay it.
She has maintained that CCTV footage would establish what happened and denied allegations of assault or torture.
An audio recording circulating on social media purportedly captures a conversation in which Sharma admits to taking and selling jewellery belonging to Shraddha. She is heard claiming that the jewellery was worth around Rs 6 lakh and asking when the money would be returned.
Investigators have also examined the possibility that some of the accused may have crossed into Nepal. A Mahindra Scorpio-N registered in Shraddha’s name was found abandoned in Bahraich district’s Rupaidiha town, close to the Nepal border, last week.
Alleging physical and mental torture over his son, Sharma’s mother, Ranjana Sharma, had said that her son called her shortly before the incident and told her he would return in five minutes after Dubey called him outside.
Amid the investigation, Hazratganj station house officer Vikram Singh was transferred to Police Lines, Assistant Commissioner of Police Rajneesh Verma was moved to the Crime Branch, and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Vikrant Vir was attached to the Uttar Pradesh Police headquarters in Lucknow.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday alleged that the death of the cafe owner Shiva Sharma was “not an ordinary case” and “can bring down the Uttar Pradesh government”, drawing a parallel with the 2020 police encounter of Kanpur-based gangster Vikas Dubey.
“Justice should be delivered. Remember, the vehicle had not overturned; the government was saved from being toppled,” Yadav said, referring to the circumstances surrounding the death of Dubey, who was killed in a police encounter after the vehicle transporting him from Madhya Pradesh to Uttar Pradesh overturned in July 2020.
“This case, too, is not an ordinary one. It is a case that will bring down the government,” the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister claimed, making a veiled reference to the alleged connection of some influential people in the case. PTI ABN KIS SHS
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