E-Paper
Who helped Shraddha evade arrest? Probe on; police may seek custody remand
DCP (Central) Arpit Vijaywargiya said investigators were verifying the possible roles of those named. Police are examining whether they helped Shraddha travel, arrange accommodation or otherwise avoid arrest. Action will be initiated against those found involved, he said.
Prefer HTon Google
Police are now probing whether anyone helped Shraddha Dubey, 31, the prime accused in the death of Lucknow cafe owner Shiva Sharma, 28, evade arrest during the 10 days she remained on the run. Some names reportedly emerged during her nearly six-and-a-half-hour interrogation at Hazratganj police station on Thursday.
DCP (Central) Arpit Vijaywargiya said investigators were verifying the possible roles of those named. Police are examining whether they helped Shraddha travel, arrange accommodation or otherwise avoid arrest. Action will be initiated against those found involved, he said.
The next key step in the investigation could be a request for police custody remand (PCR) to facilitate further questioning and reconstruction of the events leading to Sharma’s death.
“Investigators are considering seeking further custody to recreate the sequence of events on the evening of October 9, when Sharma fell to his death from the fourth floor of a building in Hazratganj,” a senior police officer said.
Vijaywargiya confirmed that the scene would be recreated in the coming days. The exercise is expected to help investigators verify Shraddha’s account against the available evidence and establish the sequence of events.
Police prepared a set of 120 questions and grilled Shraddha for six hours and 35 minutes on Thursday. If the court grants a PCR request, investigators will be able to question her further and take her to relevant locations as part of the investigation.
Shraddha, her sister Rashmi and driver Tanveer Ali alias Danish were arrested by a joint team of Lucknow Police and the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force in Nagpur on October 20. They were brought to Lucknow after police obtained transit remand from a Nagpur court.
Shraddha has denied murdering Sharma and claimed that he died by suicide amid financial distress. Sharma’s mother had lodged a murder FIR against her. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding his death and the alleged roles of the accused.
A Lucknow court on Friday rejected the bail pleas of Shraddha, Rashmi and Tanveer. Additional chief judicial magistrate Alok Kumar, acting as the chief judicial magistrate in-charge, cited the gravity of the offence and observed that the case was triable by a sessions court. The defence is now expected to approach the sessions court for bail.
