LUCKNOW An 11-day multi-state manhunt ended in Maharashtra’s Nagpur on Tuesday with the arrest of fugitive model Shraddha Dubey, 31, her younger sister Rashmi Dubey and their driver Tanveer Ali alias ‘Danish’, in connection with the alleged murder of 28-year-old Lucknow café owner Shiva Sharma.
Lucknow commissioner of police Tarun Gauba confirmed that all three accused were produced before a Nagpur court and being brought back to Lucknow on transit remand. During the chase, investigators initially suspected the trio had fled to Nepal after an SUV registered in Shraddha’s name was found abandoned last week in Rupaidiha town of Bahraich district, along the Indo-Nepal border. Amid the investigation, Hazratganj SHO Vikram Singh was transferred to Police Lines, assistant commissioner of police Rajneesh Verma moved to the Crime Branch and DCP (Central) Vikrant Vir attached to the UP Police headquarters in Lucknow.
Acting on specific intelligence, a joint team of the Lucknow Police, the UP Special Task Force (STF) and the Nagpur Police tracked down the trio, each of whom carried a ₹ 50,000 reward. As the search widened, courts issued non-bailable warrants and police doubled the reward on each accused from ₹ 25,000 to ₹ 50,000.
“She was familiar with police procedures, working methods, and technical aspects, which is why it took time to arrest her,” said Amitabh Yash, ADG (law and order) in a statement.
Back in Lucknow, Sharma’s family welcomed the breakthrough. Reacting to the arrests, the victim’s mother, Ranjana Sharma, expressed relief that the fugitives were finally in custody.
Shiva Sharma, a businessman and Shraddha’s live-in partner, died on October 9 after falling from the fourth floor of Awadh Green Apartments near Balu Adda in Lucknow. the case turned into a murder investigation on October 10 after Sharma’s mother, Ranjana Sharma, lodged a complaint alleging that her son had been assaulted, tortured, and thrown from the building While initially viewed as an accidental fall. Police subsequently registered an FIR under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The case was initially viewed as an accidental death after Sharma fell from the apartment. It turned into a murder investigation after his family alleged that he had been assaulted and tortured before being thrown from the building.
