Lucknow : Model and social media influencer Shraddha Dubey, her sister Rashmi Dubey and their driver, Tanveer Ali alias Danish, were sent to judicial custody until Oct 31 by a Lucknow court on Thursday in connection with the death of restaurant owner Shiva Sharma , who allegedly fell from the fourth floor of a building in the Hazratganj area on Oct 9.
The trio was arrested from a flat in Nagpur on Oct 20 after evading police for several days and was brought to Lucknow following a transit remand granted by a Nagpur court. Police said around 120 questions were asked during the interrogation, focusing on the circumstances preceding Sharma’s fall, the nature of his relationship with Shraddha Dubey, the possibility of an altercation before the incident and the reasons the accused allegedly left Lucknow after Sharma’s death.
DCP (Central Zone) Arpit Vijayvargiya said the accused were questioned separately to prevent them from coordinating their statements and to identify any discrepancies. Police have questioned seven people in addition to Shraddha, Rashmi and Danish as part of efforts to reconstruct the events leading to Sharma’s death, the DCP said. The domestic help told police that Sharma and Shraddha had a heated argument during the day, according to information being examined by investigators.
Their movements after the incident, alleged attempts to evade arrest and contacts who may have assisted them while they were absconding were also examined. Those questioned include the domestic help who was present at the time of the incident. Police are attempting to establish the nature and timing of the alleged argument and whether it has any bearing on the circumstances of Sharma’s death.
Earlier, on Thursday, police questioned the accused separately for nearly seven hours to reconstruct the events leading to Sharma’s death.
However, after examining the case diary and documents submitted by the investigating officer, the court ordered that the three accused be sent to judicial custody till Oct 31, the next date of hearing. Shraddha’s counsel raised an objection to the remand.
The three accused were produced before ACJM-7 Balwant Kumar Bharti after being questioned and undergoing medical examinations at Civil Hospital. A major development in the probe was the recovery of two mobile phones and Rs 25,000 in cash from Shraddha Dubey. Because shraddha had earlier claimed that one of her phones had been lost in Nepal, police said the devices were crucial to the investigation, particularly.
The investigating officer sought judicial remand, citing the need to continue the investigation, collect evidence and recover material relevant to the case. The recovered phones, along with other seized material, have been sent for forensic examination.