Gurugram (Haryana): A former model was shot dead in a hotel room here on Tuesday night, three months after she had secured bail following seven years of imprisonment for being allegedly involved in Gurugram gangster Sandeep Gadoli's 'fake' encounter case in Mumbai.
Divya Pahuja (27) was taken to the hotel on January 2 night by the accused hotel owner and shot in the head allegedly because she used to extort money by blackmailing him with his “obscene pictures”, police officials said.
The victim's family, however, denied the 'sextortion' claims. Gurugram Police arrested three of the five accused including hotel owner Abhijeet Singh (56), a resident of Model Town Hisar; Hemraj (28), a resident of Nepal; and Omprakash (23), a resident of Jalpaiguri's Juranthi village, West Bengal, within few hours, before they dumped the body.
Police said they are on the lookout for two more people involved in the murder, which unfolded at Hotel City Point, here.
How it happened- Investigations revealed that Abhijeet, on January 2, went to his Hotel City Point with the model. He wanted to delete his 'purported' obscene photos from the model's phone. As Divya refused to share her password, the hotel owner reportedly shot her in the head and killed her.
Abhijeet, along with Hemraj and Om Prakash, who worked in the housekeeping and reception desk of the hotel, loaded the dead body in his BMW car. After that, Abhijeet called his two other associates to help dispose of the body of the former model.
Confession-During police interrogation, Abhijeet revealed that Divya Pahuja had some obscene pictures of him. Because of those pictures, Divya used to blackmail Abhijeet for extortion. He also confessed that the late model wanted to extort a huge amount from him this time.
Damning CCTV visuals- When the CCTV footage of the hotel was scrutinised, it showed a duo moving a heavy object covered by the sheets and the same being loaded into one of the cars belonging to Abhijeet.
What police say- Police spokesperson Subhash Bokan said that along with the main accused, Abhijeet, two other accused have been arrested and are being interrogated.
"Accused Abhijeet said that on January 2 he had come to Hotel City Point with Divya Pahuja and he wanted to delete his obscene photos from her phone but Divya Pahuja did not tell the password of her phone," he said.
According to police, Abhijeet's housekeepers Hemraj and Prakash who helped him dispose of the body were offered Rs 10 lakh to get rid of the 'gig'. Abhijeet's partner Anup also helped him clear the body, they added.
Model's sister accuses Gadoli's kin-Sister of the deceased, Naina Pahuja who filed a complaint accused the slain gangster Sandeep Gadoli's sister Sudesh Kataria and brother Brahm Prakash Kataria as having carried out a hit job through Abhijeet, PTI reported.
On February 6, 2016, Gadoli was killed in a shootout in Mumbai. According to Mumbai police, Gadoli was lured into a trap with the help of his "girlfriend" Pahuja and was killed in a fake encounter.
On Pahuja's complaint, an FIR was registered under sections 302 (murder), 201 (hiding evidence), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, at sector 14 police station.
How did Naina find out? According to Naina Pahuja, Divya last went to meet Abhijeet on January 1 and they spoke to her on January 2 around 11.50 am. After that her family could not reach her sister. Naina said she went to Abhijeet's house in South Extension in New Delhi, where his friend "Balraj" (who has since been identified as Hemraj by police) was present and she found him in possession of Divya's phone.
"I took Divya's phone from Balraj and reached Abhijeet in his hotel in Gurugram where my sister was last present. When I requested him to show the CCTV footage, he kept on denying and arguing with me. In the end, I called the police and they started an investigation. I found my sister's blazer in Abhijeet's hotel and when I was coming back from his hotel he handed me over my sister's debit card and pan card saying she left them with him," PTI quoted Naina as saying.
Divya's belongings, blood stains- Naina got suspicious after she found blood stains on the floor of the hotel and discovered her sister's ring, shoes and other articles in the hotel store room. Her complaint said Divya, being the main witness in the Sandeep Gadoli murder case, was facing life threats. She also accused the slain gangster's kin of paying Abhijeet to murder Divya.
"It is clearly visible that after killing Divya, Abhijeet wrapped her body in a white sheet and after dragging her body away, kept it in his blue BMW car and sent it to be dumped somewhere," Naina said referring to the CCTV footage accessed by the police.
"A woman, who had boy's cut hair and was wearing a black and white sweater, is also involved in the murder of my sister," she added.
Divya's chequered past- Virendra Kumar alias Binder Gujjar, who ran a rival gang and was in jail at the time of the fake encounter, reportedly conspired with Haryana Police officials to eliminate Gadoli. He was accused of hatching a conspiracy with the help of his brother Manoj and roping in the model as a honey trap.
An FIR was registered against five police personnel, Divya, her mother and others. Divya was arrested and was lodged in prison as an undertrial. In June 2023, the Bombay High Court had granted bail to Divya, nearly seven years after her arrest.
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