LUCKNOW A day after their arrest in Nagpur, the Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday secured transit remand of social media influencer and model Shraddha Dubey, her sister Rashmi Dubey and driver Tanveer Ali, alias ‘Danish’, and began bringing the trio to Lucknow by road for further investigation into the death of cafe owner Shiva Sharma, said police.
A team of the Nagpur crime branch, led by senior police inspector Shubhangi Deshmukh and personnel of the UP Special Task Force (STF) were present during the court proceedings. The UP Police team subsequently left for Lucknow with the three accused. Investigators used CCTV footage and local intelligence to trace the suspects. A crucial lead reportedly came from an e-rickshaw driver who had given a ride to the burqa-clad trio. They reportedly rented a flat on the 11th floor of an apartment in the Beltarodi area of south-west Nagpur, where the police eventually tracked them down.
The unavailability of a direct flight between Nagpur and Lucknow is said to be the reason for police bringing them by road covering a distance of over 850 kms and taking time between 14-15 hours. The trio was produced before chief judicial magistrate Sameer Sattaram Kamat at a Nagpur court around 2.30pm on Wednesday, according to police. The court granted their transit remand till October 24, allowing the UP Police to take them to Uttar Pradesh.
The arrests on Tuesday followed a search operation launched on the basis of inputs from the UP Police. After fleeing Lucknow, the three allegedly moved between Nepal, Agra and Kanpur before reaching Nagpur on Monday.
The news of the accused being brought to Lucknow via road was confirmed by DCP (central) Arpit Vijayvargiya. Dubey is the prime accused in the death of Sharma, 28, a Lucknow-based cafe owner who died on October 9 after falling from the fourth floor of a building near Balu Adda in the heart of the city. The circumstances surrounding his death are under investigation.
“The UP Police are bringing the three accused to Lucknow for questioning and further investigation into the case,” the officer added.
