Former model shot dead in Gurugram hotel months after bail in gangster's fake encounter case
Gurugram, Jan 3: A former model was shot dead in a hotel room here months after being granted bail after spending seven years in jail in connection with a Gurugram gangster's fake encounter case in Mumbai, police said Wednesday.
They said five people took Divya Pahuja (27) to the hotel room on Tuesday night and shot her in the head allegedly because she used to extort money from the hotel-owner by blackmailing him with his "obscene pictures", a claim denied by her family.
The Gurugram Police said they arrested three of them while they were taking the body to dump somewhere.
According to the police, the three arrested accused include hotel-owner Abhijeet Singh (56), a native of Model Town in Hisar, and his two employees -- Hemraj (28), a resident of Nepal, and Omprakash (23), a resident of Jalpaiguri, West Bengal.
A CCTV footage shows the accused purportedly dragging the body wrapped in a white sheet through the lobby of Hotel City Point.
Police said Pahuja was shot dead allegedly by the hotel owner because she extorted money from him after blackmailing him with his "obscene pictures".
But her sister Naina Pahuja claimed in a police complaint that slain gangster Sandeep Gadoli's sister Sudesh Kataria and brother Brahm Prakash Kataria gave money to Singh to kill the former model.
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" Pahuja and killed in a fake encounter.
Following Naina Pahuja's complaint in the instant case, an FIR was registered under sections 302 (murder), 201 (hiding evidence), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 34 (common intention) of the India Penal Code at sector 14 police station and police are questioning the arrested accused.
Singh told police during initial interrogation that Hotel City Point belongs to him but he has given it on lease.
He alleged Divya Pahuja used to blackmail him using his "obscene pictures" and extort money. He said she wanted a huge sum this time.
Police spokesperson Subhash Boken said, "Accused Abhijeet said that on January 2 he had come to Hotel City Point with Divya Pahuja and he wanted to delete his obscene photos from her phone but Divya Pahuja did not tell the password of her phone.
"Due to which Abhijeet shot dead Divya Pahuja and along with Hemraj and Om Prakash, who worked as cleaning and reception workers in the hotel. They kept the dead body in accused Abhijeet's BMW car.
"After this, accused Abhijeet called his two other associates and gave them his car to dispose of the dead body. Our teams are conducting raids to nab the accused and recover the body," he said.
But, according to the the complaint filed by Naina Pahuja, a resident of Baldev Nagar, her sister Divya Pahuja last went to meet Singh on January 1 and they spoke to her on January 2 around 11:50 am.
After that her family tried but failed to reach her phone. Naina said that concerned about her wellbeing, they went to Abhijeet Singh's house in South Ext, New Delhi, where his friend "Balraj" (who has been identified in police's version Hemraj) was present and he was in possession of Divya Pahuja's phone.
"I took Divya's phone from Balraj and reached Abhijeet in his hotel in Gurugram where my sister was last present. When I requested him to show the CCTV footage, he kept on denying and arguing with me. In the end I called the police and they started an investigation. I found my sister's blazer in Abhijeet's hotel and when I was coming back from his hotel he handed me over my sister debit card and pan card saying she left them with him," Naina Phuja said.
Her suspicions deepened when she found blood stains on the floor of a hotel room and also found her sister's ring, shoes and other articles in the store room of the hotel.
Singh's housekeepers Hemraj and Prakash helped him dispose of the body, police said, adding Abhijeet also offered people Rs 10 lakh to get rid of the body.
Anup, his partner, also helped him dump the body, they said.
Naina alleged in her complaint, "Divya was the main witness in Sandeep Gadoli murder case and we have full surety that Sandeep Gadoli's Sister Sudesh Kataria and his brother Brahm Prakash gave money to Abhijeet for the Murder of Divya.
"It is clearly visible that after killing Divya, Abhijeet wrapped her body in a white sheet and after dragging her body away, kept it in his blue BMW car and sent it to be dumped somewhere. A woman, who had boy's cut hair and was wearing a black and white sweater, is also involved in the murder of my sister."
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 Pahuja as a honey trap.
An FIR was registered against five police personnel, Pahuja, her mother and others.
The Bombay High Court had granted bail to Pahuja in June last year, about seven years after she was arrested.
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Justice must be seen to be done: Kejriwal on refusal to appear in excise case before HC judge
New Delhi (PTI): Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal has written to Delhi High Court Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, saying he will not appear in the excise case personally or through a lawyer before her, the party said on Monday.
Pointing to a "grave miscarriage of justice", Kejriwal, in a four-page letter, said he has "serious and unreconciled" concerns regarding the matter.
"I have decided that I shall not participate in the further proceedings in this matter, either in person or through counsel. I do not take this step lightly," Kejriwal added.
In his letter, Kejriwal further said that "justice must not only be done, but must also be seen to be done".
"The principle that justice must not only be done, but must also be seen to be done, is among the most sacred assurances that a court gives to a citizen in a democracy," he said.
The assurance cannot be dishonoured by asking the citizen to ignore what "anyone can plainly see" in a case like this, he added in the letter.
The letter also invoked the principles of Satyagraha and the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, with Kejriwal saying that his intent is "strengthening of judiciary and prevent its weakening".
He added that he has given the authority an opportunity to consider and correct what he perceived to be a grave miscarriage of justice.
His earlier plea seeking the recusal of Justice Sharma, which was rejected on April 20, was interpreted as a personal attack, the AAP chief claimed.
"After the said judgment, I am left with the painful and inescapable impression that what I had urged as a lawful plea of apprehension was received and answered as a personal attack upon Your Ladyship and as an assault on the institution itself.
"Those are not, with respect, answers to the case I had brought. They show me that my plea of apprehension has been judicially understood as a personal and institutional affront," he said in the letter.
The letter further noted the leader's belief that it was now "impossible to receive an impartial hearing" in Justice Sharma's court.
Kejriwal also reiterated two grounds cited earlier in his recusal plea.
"First, the issue of Your Ladyship's repeated public association with the RSS's legal front, the Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad (ABAP) -- an organisation belonging to the ideological ecosystem of the ruling dispensation," he wrote, further pointing out that Justice Sharma's children "are professionally engaged on multiple advocates' panels of the Union government which happens to be the opposite party in this case".
Reflecting on his personal experience during the proceedings, the former Delhi chief minister expressed concern over the broader implications of his case on public trust in the judiciary, while he said he maintains respect for the institution.
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"When I appeared before Your Ladyship to argue my case, the question in my heart was simple: Will I get justice? Today, with the deepest respect, I must say that the same question has become graver and deeper in my conscience," he said.
This case has now become a matter of widespread public discussion. It is being discussed not merely in legal and political circles, but in homes across the country, the letter read.
Addressing potential criticism, Kejriwal clarified that his remarks should not be interpreted as opposition to the judiciary.
"As I write this, I am also cognisant of the fact that some might portray me as someone 'against' the judiciary. But how can that ever be the case when I have personally received relief from the judiciary, including orders of bail and the present discharge?
"Today, I walk free because of the judiciary. Let there exist no figment of imagination that my present stand is against the institution," he asserted.
Kejriwal further said his respect for the judiciary "remains intact" and he has "unwavering faith" in the Constitution of India.
"My objection is not to the institution of the High Court or the larger judicial system, but only to the continuance of this matter before Your Ladyship (Sharma) under a cloud of grave and unresolved questions and circumstances that have generated grave public doubt in your ability to dispense impartial justice," Kejriwal further wrote in the letter.
He also clarified that his "personal inability" is confined to just this matter.
"I shall continue to appear in matters where these serious and unreconciled concerns do not arise, including matters in which the solicitor general does not appear and matters unconnected with the Union government, the BJP or the RSS," the letter added.
He further said he has made the decision by listening to the voice of his conscience and that he is prepared to bear the consequences.
"I may prejudice my own legal interests. I understand that I may lose the opportunity to advance submissions before this Hon'ble Court and that adverse consequences in law may follow. I am prepared to bear those consequences," the AAP chief said.
He added that he will reserve the right to approach the Supreme Court to appeal against Justice Sharma's decision.
