Gurgaon: Ravi Banga, the domestic staffer who allegedly helped dispose of former model Divya Pahuja’s body, was caught in Jaipur on Friday, more than three weeks after she was shot dead at a city hotel on January 2.
Taking Ravi into custody largely concludes arrests in the murder case, the investigation for which took Haryana Police up to West Bengal and Punjab.Six others have been arrested till now.
The special investigation team (SIT) set up to probe the case had earlier issued a look-out notice (LOC) and announced an award of Rs 50,000 on information about Ravi.
“Ravi, a resident of Model Town in Hisar, was presented before a court and taken into 3-day-custody on Friday. We will soon interrogate him regarding his involvement in the case,” said ACP (crime) Varun Dahiya.
Divya (27), who was out on bail in an alleged fake encounter case that led to the death of gangster Sandeep Gadoli, was allegedly shot dead at Hotel City Point by its owner Abhijeet Singh around 5pm on January 2.
Police say Abhijeet then called his friends Balraj Gill, a lawyer, and domestic help Ravi to help him dispose of the body. Balraj and Ravi were seen in CCTV footage driving away from the hotel with the body in the boot of a BMW car. Abhijeet then called Megha Phogat, and the two went to Old Delhi road, where they threw the murder weapon — a pistol — from the moving car. The pistol was recovered from the bushes.
Abhijeet and two hotel staffers who allegedly helped him carry the body to the car were arrested on January 3, and Megha was held five days later. In the days after the murder, Balraj and Ravi allegedly dumped the body in Bhakra canal and abandoned the BMW in Patiala before absconding. They crossed Bhiwani, Jaipur, Udaipur and Kanpur, where they boarded a train to Kolkata. They parted ways at the Howrah railway station.
Balraj was caught in Kolkata on January 11, and after interrogating him, police found Divya’s body in a canal at Fatehabad’s Tohana, 160km downstream, on January 13. A team had also arrested Pravesh, a 37-year-old who allegedly supplied the pistol to Abhijeet.
According to cops, Abhijeet killed Divya because she was extorting him with explicit photos and videos. Her family denies the motive. Instead, they allege that the family of gangster Sandeep Gadoli, who was shot dead in an allegedly staged encounter in Mumbai in 2016, may be behind Divya’s murder.
Divya, who was believed to be Sandeep’s girlfriend, was arrested by Mumbai Police for allegedly giving away the gangster’s location to Gurgaon cops who killed him. Divya was granted bail last year.
Taking Ravi into custody largely concludes arrests in the murder case, the investigation for which took Haryana Police up to West Bengal and Punjab.Six others have been arrested till now.
The special investigation team (SIT) set up to probe the case had earlier issued a look-out notice (LOC) and announced an award of Rs 50,000 on information about Ravi.
“Ravi, a resident of Model Town in Hisar, was presented before a court and taken into 3-day-custody on Friday. We will soon interrogate him regarding his involvement in the case,” said ACP (crime) Varun Dahiya.
Divya (27), who was out on bail in an alleged fake encounter case that led to the death of gangster Sandeep Gadoli, was allegedly shot dead at Hotel City Point by its owner Abhijeet Singh around 5pm on January 2.
Police say Abhijeet then called his friends Balraj Gill, a lawyer, and domestic help Ravi to help him dispose of the body. Balraj and Ravi were seen in CCTV footage driving away from the hotel with the body in the boot of a BMW car. Abhijeet then called Megha Phogat, and the two went to Old Delhi road, where they threw the murder weapon — a pistol — from the moving car. The pistol was recovered from the bushes.
Abhijeet and two hotel staffers who allegedly helped him carry the body to the car were arrested on January 3, and Megha was held five days later. In the days after the murder, Balraj and Ravi allegedly dumped the body in Bhakra canal and abandoned the BMW in Patiala before absconding. They crossed Bhiwani, Jaipur, Udaipur and Kanpur, where they boarded a train to Kolkata. They parted ways at the Howrah railway station.
Balraj was caught in Kolkata on January 11, and after interrogating him, police found Divya’s body in a canal at Fatehabad’s Tohana, 160km downstream, on January 13. A team had also arrested Pravesh, a 37-year-old who allegedly supplied the pistol to Abhijeet.
According to cops, Abhijeet killed Divya because she was extorting him with explicit photos and videos. Her family denies the motive. Instead, they allege that the family of gangster Sandeep Gadoli, who was shot dead in an allegedly staged encounter in Mumbai in 2016, may be behind Divya’s murder.
Divya, who was believed to be Sandeep’s girlfriend, was arrested by Mumbai Police for allegedly giving away the gangster’s location to Gurgaon cops who killed him. Divya was granted bail last year.