Lucknow: A Lucknow court on Thursday sent model and social media influencer Shraddha Dubey, her sister Rashmi Dubey and driver Tanveer Ali, also known as Danish, to judicial custody till October 31 in connection with the death of cafe owner Shiva Sharma.
Sharma died on October 9 after falling from the fourth floor of a building in the Hazratganj area. The accused were arrested from a flat in Nagpur on October 20 and brought to Lucknow after a transit remand granted by a Nagpur court.
Before being produced in court, the investigation team questioned the three separately for about seven hours. Police said roughly 120 questions were asked, covering the circumstances before Sharma's fall, the nature of his relationship with Shraddha Dubey, whether there was an argument before the incident and why the accused left Lucknow afterwards.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Arpit Vijayvargiya said the accused were questioned separately so that their statements could not be coordinated. Two mobile phones and Rs 25,000 in cash were recovered from Shraddha Dubey. The phones matter to the probe because she had earlier said one of them was lost in Nepal.
Seven other people, including the domestic help present at the time of the incident, have been questioned. The court set the next hearing for October 31.
Police said it is yet to be established whether Sharma's death was murder or suicide. The probe is also examining who helped the accused evade arrest. Shraddha Dubey had earlier claimed one of her phones was lost in Nepal, but the device was recovered from her. The seized phones and other material have been sent for forensic examination.