The Lucknow Police Commissionerate has removed three key officers handling the investigation into the death of 28-year-old restaurant and cafe owner Shiva Sharma, after the prime accused, model and social media influencer Shraddha Dubey, remained untraced for more than a week, The Times of India and Dainik Jagran reported.
Hazratganj Station House Officer Vikram Singh was sent to the police lines. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Zone) Vikrant Vir, under whose jurisdiction the Hazratganj police station falls, was removed from his post and attached to police headquarters, and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Hazratganj) Rajneesh Kumar Verma was also removed from his post, according to the reports.
Senior officials said the officers were removed because they had failed to deliver results in tracing Dubey and her associates, and an entirely new team has been put in place. Police on Sunday also increased the reward for information leading to Dubey's arrest from ₹25,000 to ₹50,000.
Shiva Sharma, who lived with his family in Aliganj and ran two restaurants and a cafe, was found dead on October 9 after falling from the fourth floor of Awadh Green Apartments in the Balu Adda area of Hazratganj. According to the FIR, Dubey allegedly pushed Sharma from the fourth floor — an allegation that remains under investigation. Sharma's mother has also alleged that his body bore cigarette-burn marks.
Dubey surfaced on Sunday in a video statement from an undisclosed location, denying involvement and claiming Sharma died by suicide; her claims have not been independently verified.
Dainik Jagran reported that Dubey, her sister Rashmi Dubey and their driver Tanveer alias Danish re-entered India from Nepal via the Sonauli border, appeared briefly near the Lucknow High Court where an advocate had her sign documents, and then fled again via Agra towards Saharanpur without police being aware of their presence; police teams tracked a reported sighting in Gorakhpur but she evaded them, according to the report. Police teams are continuing raids to locate the accused.
Hazratganj, Lucknow • SHO, DCP (Central) and ACP removed over the failure to arrest the accused • Reward for Shraddha Dubey's arrest doubled from ₹25,000 to ₹50,000 • Shiva Sharma found dead on Oct 9 after falling from a fourth floor • FIR allegation under investigation; Dubey denies involvement in a video statement
Sources: The Times of India; Dainik Jagran (Jagran.com).