GURGAON: Frequent demands for large sums of money and threats to tell family and friends about their relationship led to the murder of Divya Pahuja by hotelier Abhijeet Singh in the city on Jan 2, the chargesheet submitted by cops in court states.
This was the reason, police believe, behind the murder of the former model, who was jailed in 2016 for allegedly conspiring with Gurgaon cops to stage an encounter in Mumbai in which gangster Sandeep Gadoli was killed.
Abhijeet, in his statement to police, which was made part of the chargesheet, mentioned that he first came in touch with Divya in 2014. She often used to visit Hotel City Point near Gurgaon bus stand, which he owns, and they became friends, he said.
In July 2023, Divya was released on bail and entered into a relationship with Abhijeet. He gave her several gifts, including an iPhone and Rs 3.5 lakh in cash. Abhijeet told cops that Divya had started demanding lakhs of money, but he had refused to pay up. Divya threatened to tell Abhijeet’s family and friends about their relationship to tarnish his reputation, he said.
A day before the incident, on Jan 1, Divya went to Abhijeet’s house in South Extension to celebrate the New Year. Abhijeet’s friends Balraj Gill and Megha, and domestic help Ravi Banga were also present at his house for the celebrations.
Megha left early, while Divya again started demanding money. Abhijeet then took her and Balraj to his hotel in Gurgaon on Jan 2 around 4.15am, he said in his statement.
At the hotel, room No. 114 was permanently booked for Abhijeet. In CCTV footage, Abhijeet, Balraj and Divya are seen waiting at the reception counter for a few minutes. They went to room No. 111 as the staff couldn’t find the key for No. 114. While Abhijeet stayed with Divya, Balraj left.
They woke up later in the afternoon. According to Abhijeet’s statement to police, Divya revealed to him she was lesbian and asked him if he knew a woman whom he could call to the hotel. Abhijeet claimed he was already aware of Divya’s sexual preferences. He called up Megha around 3.30pm and asked her to come to the hotel.
In the meantime, Divya again started asking Abhijeet for money. This triggered an argument. Around 6pm, Abhijeet — who had a country-made pistol with him — shot Divya in the head. He remained in the room with her body for a few minutes. After that, he covered her face with a bedsheet, switched off the lights and went to room No. 114, the key of which had been handed over to him earlier.
Megha reached the hotel around 7.50pm. Abhijeet showed Megha Divya’s body and asked her to clean the blood, but she panicked. With her help, he disposed of Divya’s iPhone and other belongings. But while leaving the room, they forgot to take the key with them.
On their way out of the hotel, Abhijeet informed the hotel staff that a woman had been murdered on the first floor. The staff, in turn, alerted police. Police came to the hotel, but left after checking room No. 114.
When Abhijeet and Megha returned, they realised that they had left the key of No. 111 inside. They forced open the door with a hammer and screwdriver with the help of the hotel staff.
Later, Abhijeet wrapped Divya’s body in a blanket and carried it to his BMW with the help of hotel staff Hemraj and Om Prakash.
Around 9pm, Abhijeet called Balraj and asked him to reach the hotel with Ravi. Balraj and Ravi took the BMW to dispose of the body. Police again reached the hotel in the early hours of Jan 3 after Divya’s family filed a complaint. By this time, her body was already on its way to Punjab. Balraj and Ravi dumped her body into the Bhakra canal. The body was fished out from a canal in Tohana, 160km downstream from Bhakra, 11 days later.
“We have filed the chargesheet with the required evidence to present a strong case against the accused,” a senior police officer said.
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