Gurugram: Body of former model Divya Pahuja, who was allegedly shot dead by hotel owner Abhijeet Singh, was recovered from a canal in Haryana after an extensive operation stretching over 150-200 km of area, 11 days after the murder, police said on Saturday.
The development comes days after Balraj Gill, one of the accused, was arrested at the Kolkata airport. A lawyer at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, he had revealed that the body was disposed of in Bhakra canal.
“The body was recovered from the subsidiary canal of the Bhakra canal in Tohana in Haryana’s Fatehabad district around 10 am,” Gurugram assistant commissioner of police (Crime) Varun Kumar Dahiya told the media.
According to police, Divya, 27, was shot dead by the hotelier on January 2 as she was allegedly extorting money from him by blackmailing him with his ‘obscene pictures’. She was reportedly released on bail in connection with the alleged fake encounter of a Haryana-based gangster in a Mumbai hotel room in 2016, about five months ago.
On January 5, the car that was allegedly used to dispose of her body was recovered. Gill had fled from Patiala after dumping his vehicle near the bus stand.
Five people have been arrested in the case so far – Singh, the owner of City Point Hotel in Sector 14 where Pahuja was killed; hotel staff Omprakash and Hemraj, who allegedly helped Singh move the body; Megha, who allegedly helped Singh dispose of the body; and Gill, who was caught at Kolkata airport on Thursday evening.
Megha had allegedly helped Abhijeet in discarding the murder weapon, throwing away documents and other personal belongings of the victim.
Another accused, Ravi Banga, is still reported to be on the run.
