Gurugram hotel murder case: Police get 5-day remand of 3 arrested accused

Gurugram: The Gurugram Police on Thursday got a five-day remand of three men arrested for their alleged involvement in the murder of slain gangster Sandeep Gadoli's girlfriend, Divya Pahuja, at a hotel here on January 2.

Pahuja, 27, a former model, was allegedly killed by Abhijeet Singh -- owner of the City Point -- the same hotel where she was staying, along with his associates, Om Prakash and Hemraj.

According to the police, Om Prakash and Hemraj used to work at City Point Hotel.

"We got a five-day remand for the suspects. The police will collect information about illegal weapons used in the crime, and the whereabouts of the two other accused who are still on the run. The deceased's body is also missing, and we need to trace that," Deputy Commissioner of Police Vijay Pratap Singh (crime) said.

The police officer said that the investigating team has recovered the mobile phones of Pahuja and Abhijeet, and sent the devices to Panchkula for forensic examination.

Abhijeet allegedly killed the former model and then paid his associates Rs 10 lakh to dispose of her body.

The police have, meanwhile, accessed the CCTV footage where the accused can be seen escaping the crime spot in a blue BMW car, carrying Pahuja's body in the boot.

Besides, another CCTV footage shows Abhijeet, the woman, and one more person arriving at the hotel reception on January 2 and proceeding towards Room Number 111.

Later, on the same night, Abhijeet and others were seen dragging Divya's body inside the hotel wrapped in a sheet.

Meanwhile, Crime Branch teams of the Gurugram Police have conducted raids at multiple locations in Haryana and Punjab to nab the two absconding accused -- Balraj, a resident of Mohali in Punjab, and Ravi Banga, a resident of Hisar, and also to recover the body of the deceased.

Meanwhile, the Gurugram Police have also recovered the BMW car which was used to carry the deceased's body.

"After an altercation between Abhijeet and Divya over some objectionable pictures, Abhijeet shot at Divya's head with an illegal pistol in an intoxicated condition on Tuesday. Thereafter, he, with the help of Om Prakash and Hemraj, dragged Divya's body to the boot of the BMW car. Abhijeet then drove around 1.5 km and handed over the car's keys to his associates identified as Balraj and Ravi Banga, who drove the car towards Punjab to dispose of the body," the DCP said.

It is being suspected that Diya's body has been dumped somewhere in Punjab. When the police opened the boot of the BMW car, her body was not found.

Meanwhile, the police said that Divya and Abhijeet were in a relationship.

During questioning, Abhijeet told the police that Divya had some of his objectionable pictures, and she was blackmailing him as well as extorting money from him.

Divya's family has alleged that her murder was conspired by Sandeep Gadoli's family members, along with Abhijeet.

Gadoli was killed in an encounter in Mumbai in February 2016. He was also "suspected" of being a police informer.

Divya was the prime accused in the case. Later, she was arrested in connection with the gangster's murder and spent seven years in jail.

She was granted bail last year in June by the Bombay High Court.