Three absconding accused in the Shiva Sharma death case, each carrying a reward of Rs 50,000 (yaani: fifty thousand rupees), were arrested from Nagpur on Tuesday in a joint operation by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (UP STF) and Lucknow Police, news agency ANI reported. The arrests were confirmed by Amitabh Yash, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order and STF).

The prime accused, model and influencer Shraddha Dubey, was arrested along with her sister Rashmi Dubey and driver Danish, also known as Tanveer Ali in some reports, Uttar Pradesh Police said. According to IANS, Dubey was taken to a police station on Wardha Road in Nagpur, where UP STF and Nagpur Police officials were jointly questioning her, and the three were to be brought to Lucknow after legal formalities, including transit remand.

Sharma, 28, a cafe owner in Lucknow, died on October 9 after a fall from the fourth floor of Awadh Green Apartments near Balu Adda in Hazratganj. A murder case under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered at Hazratganj police station on the basis of a written complaint by the victim's mother, Ranjana Sharma, who alleged that her son was killed. The allegation is under investigation.

Police said the three had been untraced since October 9. The Lucknow Police had first announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for information leading to the accused, which was later doubled to Rs 50,000 each. Specialised teams, including surveillance units and the Special Operations Group, were deployed, and Dubey's Mahindra Scorpio-N was earlier recovered near Rupaidiha on the Nepal border, leading investigators to first suspect a cross-border escape.

According to media reports, Dubey stayed for nearly 24 hours at a hotel in Taj Nagari Phase-I in Agra on October 17 before travelling to Nagpur. During her time on the run, Dubey released a video statement in which she claimed that Sharma died by suicide and that CCTV footage from the building would prove her innocence — a claim police are yet to verify, and which remains her allegation, not an established fact.

Sharma's mother has demanded swift justice in the case. The three accused are being transferred to Lucknow to complete the necessary legal formalities, and further investigation into the death is under way. All charges are allegations at this stage. Sources: ANI; IANS (via The English Post); The Daily Jagran; Nation Press.