Model Shraddha Dubey, accused in Shiva Sharma murder case, arrested from Nagpur

Social media influencer and model Shraddha Dubey, the prime accused in the murder of Shiva Sharma, has been arrested in Nagpur along with her sister Rashmi Dubey and their driver, Tanveer Ali alias Danish, by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) and Lucknow Police, officials said on Tuesday. Nagpur Crime Branch senior official Deepak Agrawal confirmed Dubey’s arrest.

Dubey, 31, had been on the run since October 9, when Sharma, 28, a businessman, died after falling from the balcony of an apartment in Lucknow’s Hazratganj area. His death was initially treated as an accidental fall, but it became a suspected murder case after his family alleged that he had been assaulted and tortured before being thrown off the building.

Cops recovered sex toys and sexual enhancement drugs from the flat and found cigarette burns on the body of restaurant-owner Sharma, further raising suspicions of foul play.

Dubey, a fashion model and Sharma’s alleged live-in partner, was booked in the case along with her sister Rashmi Dubey, their driver and two other people.

Cops tracked Shraddha’s movements across UP and Nepal

Police sources said earlier on Tuesday that Dubey’s last known location had been traced to Agra, prompting teams to search the city. Investigators also scanned CCTV footage from toll plazas along the Lucknow-Agra route to establish her movements.

Police sources said Dubey had returned to Lucknow on Saturday night, when her location was traced in the city, but she left after giving a statement to a news agency on Sunday morning.

Earlier a Mahindra Scorpio-N registered in Dubey’s name was found abandoned in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich district, around a kilometre from the Nepal border. CCTV footage subsequently purportedly showed Dubey and her sister Rashmi in Nepal. Investigators traced them to Dang district but lost track of them afterwards.

Sharma’s family alleged murder, assault and blackmail

Sharma’s family alleged that he had been assaulted and tortured before falling from the building. His family has accused Dubey of murder, assault and blackmail.

During the investigation, police reportedly recovered sex toys and sexual enhancement drugs from the apartment and found lipstick marks on Sharma’s body.

Dubey claimed Sharma died by suicide

While on the run, Dubey posted videos circulated on social media and denied involvement in Sharma’s death. She claimed that he died by suicide because of financial distress, alleging that he owed between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 20 lakh and had spoken about ending his life if he could not repay the money.

Dubey claimed that Sharma went into a bathroom at her residence on October 9 and shut the door. She said she asked her sister to check on him, but Sharma jumped from the balcony before the door could be opened.

She denied that Sharma was assaulted or tortured and claimed that CCTV footage would establish what happened. She also said that she had handed over his phone to police, arguing that his communications with lenders could help establish the circumstances leading to his death.

Sharma’s mother, Ranjana Sharma, said her son called her shortly before the incident and told her he would return in five minutes after Dubey called him outside. She alleged that he had been subjected to physical and mental torture and said she had handed over evidence to investigators.

The accused are being brought to Lucknow on transit remand and would be produced in court, said police.