'It was suicide, not murder': Model breaks silence in UP bizman's death case

Inage Credit: X; Dubey asserted that Sharma’s death was not a murder.

LUCKNOW: A day after being named as the prime accused in the death of 28-year-old restaurant owner Shiva Sharma, model and social media influencer Shraddha Dubey surfaced in a video posted on social media, denying any wrongdoing and claiming that Sharma’s death was a case of suicide, not murder.She also urged the media to stop linking her to politicians and senior officials and said she was willing to appear before the police and record her statement.The 1-minute-15-second video emerged even as Lucknow Police intensified efforts to trace the accused. On Tuesday, police announced a reward of Rs 25,000 each for information leading to the arrest of Dubey, her sister Rashmi Dubey and Tanveer Ali alias Danish in connection with the case.In the video, Dubey alleged that rumours were being spread about her and objected to what she described as attempts to link her to politicians and bureaucrats based on social media associations.“Just because someone follows me or is connected to me on Instagram does not mean I know them or have any relationship with them,” she said, appealing to the media not to draw conclusions without evidence.

Dubey also denied that she was absconding and claimed she intended to cooperate with investigators.

“I am not missing. I want to come before the police and tell them everything I know. I want to place the complete truth before them,” she said.Dubey asserted that Sharma’s death was not a murder. “The truth is that Shiva Sharma did not die due to murder but by suicide,” she said, adding that she was currently not in a condition to explain the circumstances in detail because of her health.Sharma died on October 9 after falling from the fourth floor of Awadh Green Apartment in Hazratganj.

According to police sources, he had been in a relationship with Dubey for around four months.Following the incident, Sharma’s mother, Ranjana Sharma, lodged an FIR accusing Dubey, her sister Rashmi, driver Adil and others of murdering her son. The family has alleged that Dubey pushed Sharma from the building, a claim that investigators are examining.

All those named in the FIR remain untraceable. In a recent development, an SUV allegedly linked to Dubey was found abandoned near the India-Nepal border in Bahraich district.