Model, sister and driver arrested in Lucknow cafe owner's death case

Three persons, including the main accused, model Shraddha Dubey, allegedly involved in the death of Lucknow cafe owner Shiva Sharma, were arrested on Tuesday in Nagpur, officials said in Lucknow.Dubey, her driver Danish and sister Rashmi Dubey, carrying a reward of Rs 50 thousand each, were arrested by the police and special task force team in Nagpur, they said, adding that the three will be brought to Lucknow on Transit remand. Amitabh Yash, additional director general of police (ADG), law and order and STF, confirmed the arrests. An FIR was registered on October 10 under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which pertains to murder.

#WATCH | Shiva Sharma murder case | Lucknow, UP: ADG, Law and Order, Amitabh Yash says, "The Lucknow Police had been attempting to arrest Sharddha Dubey for quite some time—ever since she became a wanted person—and the STF was also tasked with the operation. Following persistent tracking, a joint team comprising the STF and the Lucknow Police apprehended her in Nagpur this evening, with assistance from the Nagpur Police. She will now be brought to Lucknow on transit remand, where the Lucknow Police will conduct interrogations and advance the investigation. To evade the police and remain on the run, she consistently wore a burqa, minimized the use of communication devices, and kept her interactions with others to an absolute minimum. She chose to stay in low-end hotels—places with minimal surveillance and less police oversight. Ultimately, however, the joint team of the Lucknow Police and the STF tracked her down in Nagpur and took her into custody... We received information that she had gone to Nepal, after which she returned. This was likely an attempt to throw the police off her trail..."

— ANI (@ANI) October 20, 2026

The trio had remained untraceable since October 9, when Sharma, 28, died after falling from the fourth floor of Awadh Green Apartments in Lucknow's Hazratganj area. His mother, Ranjana Sharma, subsequently lodged a murder complaint against Dubey and others, alleging that her son had been killed. The allegations are under investigation.The search continued even after Dubey made a surprise appearance in a video interview from an undisclosed location, denying the murder allegations and claiming that Sharma had died by suicide. She also urged investigators to examine CCTV footage from the apartment complex, saying it would help establish what had happened. Her claims had not been independently verified.
The prolonged manhunt had put the Lucknow Police under scrutiny, with the investigation triggering administrative action against senior officers. DCP (Central) Vikrant Vir was attached to the DGP headquarters, while Hazratganj station house officer Vikram Singh was removed from his post. Assistant Commissioner of Police Rajneesh Verma was also transferred to the crime branch, according to earlier reports.
During the investigation, police found that the three accused had reportedly fled to Nepal. Shraddha’s SUV was found parked in Rupaidiha in Bahraich, near the India-Nepal border, raising suspicions that they had crossed into the neighbouring country. Investigators received further leads about their movements in Nepal, including in Banke and Surkhet. Later information placed them in Bhaluwang, in Dang district.Police also coordinated with their Nepalese counterparts to establish their whereabouts. The trio subsequently re-entered Uttar Pradesh through the Maharajganj border region, investigators found. They later travelled to Maharashtra, with Nagpur emerging as a key location in the search.