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DCP, ACP, SHO shunted amid probe into Lucknow cafe owner's death; accused model still at large
DCP, ACP, SHO shunted amid probe into Lucknow cafe owner's death; accused model still at large
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Lucknow, The investigation into the death of a cafe owner has been followed by the transfer of the incident area's DCP, ACP and SHO, officials said on Monday, even as the accused in the case remain on the run for 10th day.
Cafe owner Shiva Sharma, 28, allegedly fell from the balcony of an apartment building on October 9 in the Balu Adda area of Hazratganj. His partner, Shraddha Dubey, 31, a fashion model, her sister and their driver are key accused in the case being probed as a suspected murder.
According to officials, Hazratganj SHO Vikram Singh has been transferred to Police Lines, while Assistant Commissioner of Police Rajneesh Verma moved to Crime Branch. Deputy Commissioner of Police Vikrant Vir has been attached to the Uttar Pradesh Police headquarters in the state capital.
While no official reason has been given for the transfers, sources on Monday said the administrative changes were being linked to the high-profile case and the police investigation into it.
Dubey, Sharma's alleged live-in partner, has been on the run since the incident. The Lucknow Police has announced a reward of ₹25,000 each for information leading to the arrest of Dubey, her sister Rashmi Dubey and another accused, Tanvir Ali alias Danish. The reward was further increased to 50,000.
The case has drawn further attention after a video of an interview with Shraddha surfaced on Sunday, even as police had not officially traced her whereabouts.
In videos circulated on social media earlier, Dubey has denied involvement in Sharma's death and claimed that he died by suicide due to financial distress. She has alleged that Sharma was under a debt of ₹15 lakh to ₹20 lakh and had spoken about ending his life if he could not repay the money.
In her account of the events leading to the incident, Dubey claimed that on October 9, Sharma went into a bathroom at her residence and closed the door. She said she asked her sister to check on him, but before the door could be opened, Sharma jumped from the balcony.
Dubey has maintained that CCTV footage would establish what happened and denied allegations that Sharma was tortured or assaulted. She has also claimed that she handed over Sharma's phone to the police, saying it could help establish his communications with lenders.
"I am not absconding. I want to appear before the police and present my account of the incident," she had said in a video, while appealing to the media not to spread rumours about her.
Separately, an audio recording circulating on social media purportedly captures a conversation in which Sharma admits to taking three chains and a bracelet belonging to Dubey and selling them in Lucknow's Chowk area.
Dubey is heard saying the jewellery was worth around ₹6 lakh and asking when the money would be returned.
There were also reports that Dubey may have crossed into Nepal with her sister and an associate. A Mahindra Scorpio-N registered in her name was found abandoned in Rupaidiha town of Bahraich district, around a kilometre from the Nepal border, last week.
Investigators have not ruled out the possibility that some of the accused crossed the international border.
The case was initially viewed as an accidental death after Sharma fell from an apartment in Awadh Green Apartment here. It turned into a murder investigation after his family alleged that he had been assaulted and tortured before being thrown from the building.
The Hazratganj police have booked Dubey, her sister Rashmi, their driver and two other people for murder.
Sharma's mother, Ranjana Sharma, has repeatedly demanded the arrest of the accused and questioned Dubey's claim that her son died by suicide, asking why she had not given this account to the police earlier.
She has said her son called her shortly before the incident and told her he would return in five minutes after Dubey called him outside. She has also alleged that he was subjected to physical and mental torture and said she had handed over evidence to the police.
A police officer had earlier said the authorities were aware of the videos and had taken cognisance of them.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
