Gurugram ex-model murder: Victim shot from point-blank range, reveals post-mortem
Former model Divya Pahuja was shot at point-blank range, according to the 27-year-old's post-mortem report. A bullet was also recovered from her head, India Today reported. The post-mortem examination was conducted at Agroha Medical College in the Hisar district of Haryana. Pahuja's body was handed over to her family after the autopsy, who took it back to Gurugram to conduct her last rites.
Alleged extortion and blackmail led to Pahuja's murder
To recall, the 27-year-old was murdered in Gurugram on January 2 at City Point Hotel, allegedly by the hotel owner Abhijeet Singh. The victim's body was recovered from a canal in Fatehabad's Tohana almost 11 days after the alleged murder. Police have said that Singh claimed that Pahuja was blackmailing him with explicit videos, leading to his alleged involvement in her murder.
5 people arrested so far in Pahuja murder case
The police have so far apprehended five individuals in connection with the murder. Four of them -- Singh, Hemraj, Megha Phogat, and Om Prakash -- have been arrested for assisting in hiding the murder weapon and Pahuja's belongings. Another person, Balraj Gill, has been apprehended for reportedly disposing of her body. Meanwhile, a suspect named Ravi Banga, who assisted in moving the body in a vehicle, is currently on the run.
Police sent 3 guns for forensic testing
According to reports, the Gurugram Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case has sent two pistols recovered from the house of Singh and a pistol belonging to his Personal Security Officer (PSO) for forensic examination. According to reports, the police suspect that one of these weapons might have been used in Pahuja's murder.
How CCTV footage helped police crack case
The CCTV footage from Hotel City Point showed the accused purportedly dragging Pahuja's dead body, wrapped in a white sheet, through the lobby. The accused put the victim's body in the boot of a car and fled the hotel, reports said. Police believe that Singh then handed over the car to Gill, approximately a kilometre from the hotel. The vehicle was found abandoned later at a bus stop in Punjab's Patiala.
Know about victim's criminal background
Pahuja was in jail for more than seven years for conspiring a "fake encounter" of her partner gangster Sandeep Gandoli in Mumbai with Gurugram Police and rival gang boss Virendra Kumar alias Binder Gujjar in 2016. At the time of Gandoli's murder, Gujjar was in jail but had chalked the plan with the assistance of his brother Manoj and roped in the 27-year-old.
