Divya Pahuja murder: Main accused disposed weapon, 2 others took body in car
Gurugram, Jan 6: The main accused arrested in ex-model Divya Pahuja's murder has revealed that he disposed of the crime weapon on Old Delhi road here while his accomplices took the body in a car, police said on Saturday.
While the blue BMW car, which was used to transport Divya's body, was recovered from Punjab, the Gurugram Police are yet to trace the body and nab two other accused -- Balraj Gill and Ravi Bandra.
On January 2, Divya was taken to Hotel City Point by five people and allegedly shot dead inside room number 111, police said.
According to new revelations by the main accused, hotel owner Abhijit Singh, he had thrown the murder weapon and other items, including Divya's second phone and her ID card, on Old Delhi road, the investigating officer said.
Abhijit disclosed that he along with Gill and Bandra reached Old Delhi Road later in the night after the murder, the officer said, adding that Gill and Bandra dropped Abhijit there and left with Divya's body still in the boot of the car.
The police conducted searches on the Old Delhi road three times but could not find the murder weapon and Divya's belongings, the officer said.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) is continuously conducting raids in search of Gill, a lawyer by profession, and Bandra. Till now, Abhijit, Hemraj and Omprakash have been arrested in connection with the case, the officer said.
The houses of the two absconders in Hisar and Mohali were also raided by the SIT.
In a CCTV footage, Abhijit and Divya can be seen reaching the hotel and Gill is also present with them. After reaching the counter, Gill took a bag from Abhijit and they went towards the rooms.
Another footage shows the suspects, including Abhijit, purportedly dragging Divya's body wrapped in a white sheet through the hotel lobby to the BMW car, police had said.
Divya was in jail for seven years for conspiring a "fake encounter" of her partner gangster Sandeep Gandoli in Mumbai with Gurugram police and rival gang leader Virendra Kumar alias Binder Gujjar on February 6, 2016.
At the time of Gandoli's killing, Gujjar was in prison but had hatched the plan with the help of his brother Manoj and roped in Divya.
Mumbai Police registered an FIR against five police personnel, Divya, her mother and others. The Bombay High Court granted bail to Divya in June, 2023.
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BJP to elect its legislature party leader in Maharashtra, set in motion process to form govt
Mumbai (PTI): The crucial legislature party meeting of the BJP will be held at the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan on Wednesday to elect its leader, who is expected take over as the next chief minister of the state.
Former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is being seen as the frontrunner for the top post in the new BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP Mahayuti government.
The BJP legislature party leader elected in the meeting is then expected to meet the governor to stake a claim to form new government in the state.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani have been appointed as central observers for the BJP legislature party meeting.
Rupani, who arrived in Mumbai Tuesday evening for the meeting, said late night that the legislature party leader's name will be finalised after talks with the party's newly-elected MLAs.
If there is unanimity, then only one name will be selected, he said.
The BJP achieved remarkable success in the November 20 Maharashtra elections, securing 132 out of 288 seats, marking its best performance in the state so far.
Together with its allies -- the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar's NCP, the Mahayuti coalition has a commanding majority of 230 seats.
On Tuesday, Fadnavis met caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at his official residence, 'Varsha,' here, the first in-person meeting since their discussions in Delhi last week for government formation.
While the hour-long meeting's details remain unclear, some political observers view it as an outreach effort by the BJP to placate an ally which is weighing its options, while others believe it served as a preliminary discussion regarding the swearing-in ceremony set for December 5.
Preparations were on in full swing for the swearing-in ceremony to be held on Thursday at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as nearly 2,000 VVIPs and 40,000 supporters.
Several Union ministers, and 19 chief ministers and deputy CMs of various states are also expected to attend the ceremony.
BJP leader Prasad Lad has said the ceremony will be a "historic moment" for Maharashtra.
"The event will be telecast live across the state wherever LED screens are available," he said.
There are indications that the distribution of portfolios among the three allies might not be a smooth process.
Sena leaders on Monday said that as per the "convention" of alliance politics, their party should get the home portfolio if the CM post went to the BJP.
A Shiv Sena leader said a broad consensus has emerged among top BJP leaders and other Mahauti allies to drop ministers facing serious allegations of corruption in the new government.
Earlier on Tuesday, Shinde visited a private hospital for a health check-up, setting tongues wagging in the Maharashtra political circles.
"I came for a check-up. My health is in good condition," he later told reporters while leaving the hospital.
His decision to head to his village in Satara district last Friday had sparked speculation that he was unhappy over the way the new government was shaping up.
