Divya's association with the underworld began in 2016 when she was just 18 years old.
Divya Pahuja, a 27-year-old model, who had recently secured bail after seven years in connection with the alleged fake encounter of Gurugram's most-wanted gangster, Sandeep Gadoli, was found shot dead in a Gurugram hotel on Wednesday.
Divya's association with the underworld began in 2016 when she was just 18 years old. The Mumbai police arrested her on charges of facilitating the alleged fake encounter of Sandeep Gadoli, her then-boyfriend and a dreaded gangster, in a hotel near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in 2016. The encounter, conducted by Haryana police, drew scrutiny, resulting in the arrest of several police officials and Divya, for allegedly revealing the gangster's whereabouts.
After spending seven years in jail, Divya was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in June 2023. The court cited her prolonged incarceration and the expected lengthy trial as grounds for her release.
Despite her criminal associations, Divya's life took an even darker turn when she was shot dead in a Gurugram hotel on Tuesday. The circumstances surrounding her death, however, are still unclear.
According to the police, three individuals, including the hotel owner Abhijeet Singh and two of his employees, were arrested while attempting to dispose of Divya's body. Singh claimed that Divya had been extorting money from him by threatening to reveal compromising pictures, a charge vehemently denied by her family.
Divya's sister, Naina, lodged a police complaint, alleging that Singh was paid by Gadoli's family members - his sister Sudesh Kataria and brother Brahm Prakash Kataria - to kill her. The complaint also raised suspicions about Singh's involvement in the murder, pointing to discrepancies in his version of events. CCTV footage of the hotel where Divya was killed shows Singh attempting to dispose of her body with the help of his employees.
"Accused Abhijeet said that on January 2 he had come to Hotel City Point with Divya Pahuja and he wanted to delete his obscene photos from her phone but Divya Pahuja did not tell the password of her phone. Due to which Abhijeet shot dead Divya Pahuja and along with Hemraj and Om Prakash, who worked as cleaning and reception workers in the hotel. They kept the dead body in accused Abhijeet's BMW car. After this, accused Abhijeet called his two other associates and gave them his car to dispose of the dead body. Our teams are conducting raids to nab the accused and recover the body," Police spokesperson Subhash Boken said, as quoted by news agency PTI.
According to Naina, Divya met Singh on January 1. The family last spoke to her on January 2 at 11:50 am. Attempts to reach her phone later that day proved unsuccessful, raising concerns about her safety.
The police have registered a case and an investigation is underway
to get to the bottom of the case.