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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Wait gets longer: CAS decision on Vinesh appeal to come on August 13
Paris, Aug 10: The ad-hoc division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will take some more time to deliberate on Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat's appeal against her disqualification from the women's 50kg free-style final of the Olympic Games and will announce its decision only on August 13.
The 29-year-old was disqualified for being 100gm overweight at the time on weigh-in on Wednesday. The much-anticipated verdict on her appeal was earlier due to be announced this evening.
However, in a chaotic turn of events, the Indian Olympic Association first stated that the verdict will be out on Sunday before issuing a clarification to say that the outcome will be known only on August 13.
"The ad-hoc division of CAS has extended time for the Sole Arbitrator Hon. Dr Annabelle Bennett in the Vinesh Phogat vs. United World Wrestling & the International Olympic Committee matter to give a decision till 6-00 p.m. on August 13, 2024," the IOA statement read.
"The reference to August 11 in the earlier communication sent by me was to the time given to all parties to present any additional documents before the Sole Arbitator," it added.
The body apologised for "the confusion and inconvenience caused".
The Games will close on Sunday with a ceremony at Stade de France, which was the venue for track and field events.
The CAS ad-hoc division, set up especially for dispute resolution during the Games, had accepted Vinesh's appeal against her ouster on Friday.
The Indian has demanded that she be given a joint silver with Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who had lost to Vinesh but was later promoted to the final following the Indian's disqualification.
American Sarah Hildebrandt won the gold after defeating Lopez in the title clash.
Vinesh was represented by high-profile senior advocates Harish Salve and Vidushpat Singhania.
Crestfallen after being disqualified, the wold championships bronze-medallist announced her retirement on social media.
The United World Wrestling has already made it clear that it was not in favour of making an exception for her although it could consider reforms in rules at a later time.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach held a similar view.
India signed off with six medals at the Games, one silver and five bronze, two of which came from pistol shooter Manu Bhaker. The lone silver was snared by Neeraj Chopra, who was the defending champion in men's javelin throw.
