Out on bail in fake encounter case of Haryana gangster, former model shot dead in Gurgaon hotel

The body of Pahuja, 27, has not been recovered yet and police are looking for two more accomplices of Singh who are suspected to have been tasked with disposing of the body.

According to police, Singh told them that Pahuja was in possession of a few objectionable pictures of him on the basis of which she had been extorting him.

In her complaint, Pahuja’s sister Naina alleged that she suspected Gadoli’s sister to have paid Singh off to murder her. However, police said their preliminary probe suggested no links of the accused with the gangster.

Besides Singh, a resident of Model Town, Hisar, the other two arrested in the case are Hemraj, a 28-year-old man from Nepal, and Omprakash, a 23-year-old from Juranti village, Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal. Both worked at City Point Hotel in the cleaning department and the reception, respectively.

According to ACP (City) Mukesh Kumar, the family of Pahuja alleged that she had gone to meet Singh on Tuesday following which her phone was unreachable.

Police checked the CCTV footage at the hotel and registered a case at Sector 14 police station on the complaint of her sister. CCTV footage showed two men purportedly carrying a body wrapped in a blanket around 10.40 pm on Tuesday.

A resident of Baldev Nagar, Naina stated that when she went to the hotel, she saw Pahuja’s belongings, such as her debit and PAN cards, shoes and a ring in the room where she was staying.

“We are trying to locate the body of the victim, and it seems like the accused has tried to destroy evidence,” said the ACP.

The case has been transferred to the crime branch team at sector 17.

“We are checking with Hisar police to see if Singh has any criminal antecedents,” an official said.

The accused and the victim met around three months ago, police said.

During preliminary interrogation, Singh told police that he had been running City Point Hotel on lease. Recently, Pahuja had demanded a substantial amount from Singh and the latter had called her to his hotel to convince her to delete his photos from her phone, said police. However, when Pahuja refused to disclose her phone’s password, Singh shot her, said police. Singh then, along with Hemraj and Om Prakash, placed Pahuja’s body in his BMW car. Subsequently, Singh summoned two other accomplices, handed over his car to them, and instructed them to dispose of the body, police said, adding they are looking for the duo.

Pahuja was arrested on July 14, 2016 along with her mother Sonia and officials of Haryana Police who were accused of killing Gadoli in a fake encounter at a Mumbai hotel. She was granted bail by the Mumbai High Court in June last year. Police claimed Pahuja was accompanying Gadoli to Mumbai and, through her mother, was passing on information about him to the Haryana cops.