Former model Divya Pahuja shot dead in Gurugram hotel months after bail in gangster Gadoli’s ‘fake’ encounter case

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Divya Pahuja, a former model and a key accused in the alleged fake encounter of Gurgaon gangster Sandeep Gadoli, was shot dead by unidentified assailants at a hotel in Gurugram on Thursday. The police suspect that the murder was a fallout of a gang rivalry.
Pahuja, 25, was staying at the Hotel Royal Inn in Sector 14, Gurugram, with her friend, Amit Kumar, who was also injured in the attack. According to the police, around 9 pm, four armed men barged into their room and opened fire at them. Pahuja died on the spot, while Kumar was rushed to a nearby hospital, where his condition is said to be critical.

The police have registered a case of murder and attempt to murder against the unknown assailants and are scanning the CCTV footage of the hotel and the surrounding area to identify them. The police have also recovered a pistol and four cartridges from the crime scene.

Pahuja was one of the prime accused in the murder of Gadoli, a notorious gangster, who was killed in an alleged fake encounter by the Haryana Police at a hotel near the Mumbai airport on February 7, 2016. Pahuja, who was Gadoli's girlfriend, had allegedly accompanied him to Mumbai and tipped off the police about his whereabouts. She was arrested on July 14, 2016, along with her mother Sonia and five police personnel, for criminal conspiracy and murder.

Pahuja had claimed that she was innocent and had no role in the encounter. She had also alleged that she was tortured and sexually harassed by the police during custody. She had moved the Bombay High Court for bail several times, but her pleas were rejected. However, in June 2023, the high court granted her bail, citing her extended custody and the unlikelihood of the trial concluding soon. The court had imposed certain conditions on her release, such as reporting to the Mumbai Crime Branch every fortnight and not leaving the city without permission.

The police suspect that Pahuja's murder was a revenge killing by Gadoli's rivals, who wanted to eliminate her as she was a crucial witness in the case. Gadoli, who was wanted in several cases of murder, extortion and robbery, was the leader of one of the most powerful gangs in Gurgaon. He had a long-standing feud with another gangster, Binder Gujjar, who was allegedly behind the encounter plot.

The police are probing the possible involvement of Gujjar's gang or any other gang in the murder. They are also questioning Pahuja's friend, Amit Kumar, who is said to be a property dealer and a relative of a BJP leader. The police are trying to ascertain the motive behind his presence at the hotel with Pahuja and whether he had any links with the gangsters.

Pahuja's murder has once again raised questions over the security of the witnesses and the accused in the Gadoli encounter case, which is still pending in the court. The case has also exposed the nexus between the police and the underworld in the region.