An Uttar Pradesh police team left for Lucknow on Wednesday afternoon after a Nagpur court granted transit remand for model and social media influencer Shraddha Dubey, 31, her sister Rashmi Dubey and their driver Tanveer Ali alias Danish. The three were arrested in Nagpur on Tuesday in connection with the murder of cafe owner Shiva Sharma, 28, who died after falling from an apartment building in Lucknow on October 9.
The three were tracked down by the Nagpur crime branch on a tip from the UP police using CCTV footage, local intelligence, and a crucial tip from an e-rickshaw driver who gave the burqa-clad suspects a ride, Sharma, who is alleged to be Shraddha’s live-in partner, died after falling from the fourth floor. The incident was initially treated as an accidental death, but his mother later lodged a murder complaint alleging that her son had been subjected to physical and mental torture. A Nagpur crime branch team led by senior police inspector Shubhangi Deshmukh and UP special task force (STF) officers produced the three before Chief Judicial Magistrate Sameer Sattaram Kamat at about 2:30pm. The judge granted transit remand to the UP team till October 24.
She told police that Sharma called her shortly before his death and said he would return in five minutes after Shraddha called him outside.
She alleged that Sharma owed between ₹ 15 lakh and ₹ 20 lakh and had threatened to end his life if he could not repay the money. The case gained further attention after videos of Shraddha surfaced on social media. In a video interview to a news agency, she denied any role in Sharma’s death and claimed he died by suicide due to financial difficulties.
