Model and social media influencer Shraddha Dubey , 31, her sister Rashmi Dubey and their driver Tanveer Ali alias Danish were arrested in Nagpur in Maharashtra on Tuesday in connection with the alleged murder of cafe owner Shiva Sharma, 28, who died after falling from an apartment building in Lucknow on October 9. A joint team of the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF), Lucknow Police and Nagpur Police arrested the trio after an 11-day manhunt across state borders, said officials aware of the matter.
Amitabh Yash, additional director general of police (law and order and STF), confirmed the arrests. “The process of bringing the accused, Shraddha Dubey, to a Lucknow court on transit remand is underway. Shraddha Dubey was familiar with police procedures, working methods and technical aspects, which is why it took time to arrest her. The incident was initially treated as an accidental death, but his mother, Ranjana Sharma, later lodged a murder complaint alleging that her son had been subjected to physical and mental torture. With the accused untraceable, investigators widened the search beyond Uttar Pradesh. Police pursued leads suggesting that the trio may have crossed into Nepal through the Rupaidiha border in Bahraich district.
Sharma, Dubey’s alleged live-in partner, died after falling from the fourth floor of Awadh Green Apartments in Lucknow’s Hazratganj area on October 9. An FIR under BNS Section 103(1) (whoever commits murder shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life) was registered against Dubey, her sister, their driver and two other unidentified people on October 10. A Mahindra Scorpio-N registered in Dubey’s name was later found abandoned in Rupaidiha, near the Nepal border on October 16, according to police.
The police have finally succeeded in arresting her,” Yash said. Lucknow police commissioner Tarun Gauba said the accused will be brought to Lucknow after the necessary legal formalities. “After getting the police custody of the accused from a local court in Nagpur on Wednesday, the UP STF will take them to Lucknow for further investigation,” said a senior police officer. She told police that Sharma had called her shortly before his death and said he would return in five minutes after Dubey called him outside.
