Murdered model Divya Pahuja had been sextorting killer, say Haryana cops

Former model Divya Pahuja, planted by a Haryana-based gangster Binder Gujjar to honeytrap his arch-rival Sandeep Gadoli - killed in a fake encounter in a hotel in Mumbai in 2016 - had been sextorting money from her killer Abhijeet Singh to meet legal expenses and run her house. Sources in Haryana police told mid-day that Pahuja, 27, came in contact with Singh through Gujjar after she walked out of jail where she languished for seven years.

The Haryana police crime branch found the BMW, used in disposing of Pahuja's body, abandoned in Patiala with its doors locked. However, her mortal remains are yet to be recovered. The police believe that her body might have been disposed of in a river en route to Patiala from Gurugram.

IN PHOTOS: Model Divya Pahuja, accused in Sandeep Gadoli encounter case, killed in Gurugram hotel

10 months agoPHOTO GALLERY

"We have ascertained that Pahuja was killed after an altercation with her boyfriend Singh who owns Hotel City Point in Gurugram. During interrogation, Singh told us that gangster Binder Gujjar was a common friend and that he (Singh) came in contact with Pahuja after she got out of jail in July 2023," said an officer in Haryana police.

Haryana police with all three accused who are in police custody

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), Haryana Police, Vijay Pratap said, "They (Pahuja and Singh) were in a relationship and she had reportedly videotaped something. Singh has told us that she had been extorting him to extract money. To date, she has allegedly extracted R6 lakh from him."

‘He wanted clips deleted'

According to the police, Singh wanted to delete his video clips and photographs that showed him in a compromising position with Pahuja. Police sources told mid-day that Pahuja, who carried two handsets with her, had stored the content in one of the phones. "After reaching Hotel City Point in Gurugram, Singh wanted to delete the content of Pahuja's cell phone. But she didn't allow him to access her phone's photo gallery. The altercation took place around 5 pm on January 2. This triggered Singh, who pulled out his illegal firearm and shot her dead inside room number 111," said an officer.

Though the Haryana police were informed about a gunfire incident at 9 pm on January 2, the visiting cops returned without any knowledge of the murder as they only inspected Singh's room and failed to check the adjacent room on the same floor where Pahuja's body was lying in a pool of blood. Almost two hours later, Pahuja's killer disposed of her body and tried to wipe out the crime scene using several litres of petrol. Singh, the owner of Hotel City Point, had leased the establishment to a businessman Anup who called the cops and informed them about the gunfire. Sources told mid-day that two separate rooms were booked for Singh and Pahuja at the hotel. "The police arrived at the hotel and checked only room number 114 which was booked in Singh's name," said a source.

Divya Pahuja's residence in Gurugram

Meanwhile, a source at Sector 14 police station in Gurugram told mid-day that the hotel reception and corridor lights were switched off around 10.42 pm on January 2. "After Singh learnt that the cops had left, he planned to dispose of Pahuja's body. With the help of two cleaning staffers Hemraj and Om Prakash, her body, wrapped in a white bed sheet from the hotel, was dragged from room number 111 to the ground floor through the corridor around 10:45 pm. It was stuffed into the BMW and driven away to be discarded," the source said. "We are checking if there were any lapses in the police work," DCP Pratap added.

How murder came to light

In her statement to Haryana police, Pahuja's sister Naina said the former was last active on her mobile phone at 11.50 am on January 2. Since her cell phone was not reachable, Naina immediately visited Singh's home in South Ext, Gurugram as Pahuja had left her house on January 1 with him. "I found Balraj (Gill) at Singh's house. He was carrying my sister's cell phone, which I took in possession and reached Hotel City Point where my sister was last seen," Naina told the police in her statement.

Singh was present at the hotel and when Naina asked him about Pahuja, he didn't tell her anything. Naina wanted to check the CCTV footage of the hotel, but the hotel staff did not cooperate. Naina noticed bloodstains on the staircases, walls and corridor of the hotel. Also, she found Pahuja's blazer and jewellery in Singh's room and found her footwear, spectacles and ring lying in the store room. Naina then confronted Singh and when she threatened to call the police, he reportedly handed over Pahuja's debit and PAN cards.

Naina called in police on the morning of January 3 and a team from Sector 14 police station arrived at the hotel. The crime came to light only after cops checked CCTV footage. "During interrogation, Singh told us that he was high on drugs and killed Pahuja on January 2. We have arrested Singh and two others who dragged the body to his car on the night of January 2," DCP Pratap said. "After hiding the body in his BMW, Singh called Balraj - a native of Mohali - and drove for nearly 1.5 km before handing over the car keys to him. One more person present in the car was Ravi Banga, a native of Hisar," the DCP said, adding that police teams are camping in Punjab to nab Balraj and Banga.