Divya Pahuja murder: Ex-model's body was still in hotel when police first visited it, claim sources
Gurugram, Jan 5: Hours after ex-model Divya Pahuja was shot dead in a Gurugram hotel, police responded to a call and visited the hotel and returned after checking room number 114, while the body was lying in another room, police sources said Friday.
The 27-year-old woman was taken to Hotel City Point on Tuesday by five people and allegedly shot dead inside room number 111, they said.
While Divya's body is yet to be recovered, on Friday, a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), which will be led by ACP crime Varun Dahiya, was formed to probe the case, police said. The team will work under the supervision of DCP Crime Vijay Pratap Singh.
According to the sources, the main accused hotel owner Abhijit Singh revealed that Divya was shot dead in the hotel at 5 pm on Tuesday.
He called Anup, to whom the hotel was given on lease, for help but Anup informed the police about the murder at 9 pm, they said.
After getting information, police reached the spot and returned after checking room number 114 while Divya's body was lying in room number 111, the sources said.
Taking advantage of this, Abhijit asked his friends Balraj Gill and Ravi Bandra for help in disposing of the body. In a CCTV footage, Abhijit can be seen fleeing the hotel in a blue BMW car with Divya's body in the boot, they said.
Later, Anup again called the police at 11 pm on which the police took a serious note. After examining the CCTV footage, the murder was revealed but by then the suspects had fled with the body.
The footage shows the suspects, including Abhijit, purportedly dragging her body wrapped in a white sheet through the hotel lobby to the BMW car, police had said.
The BMW car was found abandoned at a bus stand in Punjab's Patiala, however, the former model's body is yet to be recovered, the Gurugram Police said in a statement on Thursday evening.
Till now, Abhijit, Hemraj and Omprakash have been arrested while two others, including Gill, are still at large, police said.
Sandeep Gadoli, a dreaded gangster from Gurugram, was killed in a shootout in Mumbai on February 6, 2016. Later, the Mumbai police said Gadoli had been lured into a trap with the help of his "girlfriend" Divya and killed in a fake encounter.
Virendra Kumar alias Binder Gujjar ran a rival gang and allegedly conspired with Haryana Police officials to eliminate Gadoli. Gujjar was in prison at the time of the encounter, but he hatched the conspiracy with the help of his brother Manoj and roped in Divya as a honey trap.
An FIR was registered against five police personnel, Divya, her mother and others.
The Bombay High Court had granted bail to Divya in June last year, about seven years after she was arrested.
Police are probing the case from three angles blackmail, roles of gangster Gadoli's family, and Gujjar's involvement.
DCP Crime Singh said the revelations made by Abhijit are being verified and he is also being interrogated about Divya.
Abhijit claims that he killed Divya because she was blackmailing him, he said.
"We are also interrogating Hemraj and Om Prakash and trying to connect the entire sequence of events that took place on January 2. Divya's mobile has also been sent to Diatec Lab for testing," the DCP said.
"Our teams are continuing to raid suspect places and hope the body of the deceased will be recovered soon," he said.
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ED cracks down on suspected interstate liquor racket, raids 9 sites in Arunachal
Itanagar (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate has carried out coordinated searches at nine locations across Arunachal Pradesh in connection with a suspected large-scale interstate liquor smuggling and money laundering network, officials said on Monday.
The action, taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), is part of an expanding probe that points to a syndicate exploiting tax differentials among states.
Officials said liquor designated for sale within Arunachal Pradesh was allegedly diverted and supplied illegally to markets in Assam and other states.
The searches, conducted earlier this week, spanned multiple towns such as Itanagar, Naharlagun, Seppa, Ziro, Daporijo, Namsai and Roing, targeting wholesale liquor businesses suspected of being linked to the network.
According to officials, the investigation stems from a series of FIRs registered by Assam Police over the illegal transportation of liquor from Arunachal Pradesh into Assam.
Inputs from the Assam Excise Department further strengthened the case. An Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) was registered on October 17, 2024, and later widened through an addendum incorporating 173 additional FIRs.
Earlier searches conducted on February 4 last year, at premises linked to three alleged key operators, believed to be major liquor manufacturers, had revealed indications of a well-coordinated operation.
Investigators suspect that the network functioned through a chain of manufacturers, bonded warehouses and wholesalers, while masking real ownership using proxy arrangements such as tribal partnerships and dummy licence holders.
During the latest ED operations, the agency found that several wholesale units were operating under proxy licences issued in the names of local individuals, while actual control remained with the suspected masterminds.
Financial scrutiny revealed that between 51 and 90 per cent of total credits in certain bank accounts comprised unexplained cash deposits.
Investigators also flagged a pattern of invoice splitting, with transactions deliberately kept below Rs 2 lakh to avoid scrutiny. In one instance, more than 200 invoices of identical value of Rs 1,99,554 were generated within a single month at one location.
On-ground staff reportedly confirmed that records, including stock registers and daily cash collections, were being routed to offices associated with the alleged controllers.
The ED said it seized approximately Rs 40 lakh in unaccounted cash during the searches.
In a significant finding, 14 seals, some purportedly belonging to the Excise Department of the Arunachal Pradesh government, were recovered from one of the premises. These are suspected to have been used to create fake transport permits to facilitate the unauthorised movement of liquor.
Further investigation is underway, officials added.
