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Dubey, 31, had been on the run since October 9, when Sharma, 28, allegedly fell from the balcony of an apartment in Lucknow's Hazratganj area. His death, initially treated as an accidental fall, became a suspected murder case after his family alleged that he had been assaulted and tortured before being thrown from the building.

Cops recovered sex toys and sexual enhancement drugs from the flat and found cigarette burns on his body, further raising suspicions of foul play.

Dubey, a fashion model and Sharma's alleged live-in partner, is among the accused booked in the case. Her sister Rashmi Dubey, their driver and two other people have also been named in the case.

Earlier on Tuesday, police sources said Dubey's last known location had been traced to Agra, prompting teams to search the city. Investigators were also scanning CCTV footage from toll plazas along the Lucknow-Agra route to establish her movements.

According to police sources, Dubey returned to Lucknow on Saturday night, when her location was traced to the city. However, she reportedly left after giving a statement to a news agency the following morning.

Shraddha Dubey allegedly tried to evade the police by travelling from Lucknow to Kanpur and then to Nagpur, frequently changing taxis and avoiding the use of her own phone. She reportedly called taxi drivers over WhatsApp using their own phone numbers and returned their phones after making calls.

Although her number was under surveillance, she kept her phone switched off. Police eventually traced a taxi driver in Kanpur, questioned him and obtained information about her whereabouts after he shared the address she had travelled to. She also allegedly used apps on other people’s phones to make calls instead of using her own device.SHARMA'S FAMILY ALLEGES MURDER, ASSAULT

Sharma's death was initially treated as an accidental fall but became a suspected murder case after his family alleged that he had been assaulted and tortured before falling from the building.

During the investigation, police reportedly recovered sex toys and sexual enhancement drugs from the apartment and found lipstick marks on Sharma's body. These details are part of the investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.DUBEY HAD CLAIMED SHARMA DIED BY SUICIDE

While on the run, Dubey denied involvement in Sharma's death in videos circulated on social media. She claimed that he died by suicide because of financial distress, alleging that he owed between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 20 lakh and had spoken about ending his life if he could not repay the money.

Dubey also claimed that Sharma went into a bathroom at her residence on October 9 and shut the door. She said she asked her sister to check on him, but before the door could be opened, Sharma jumped from the balcony.

She denied allegations that Sharma was assaulted or tortured and claimed that CCTV footage would establish what happened. She also said she had handed over his phone to police, arguing that his communications with lenders could help establish the circumstances leading to his death.

Sharma's mother, Ranjana Sharma, has rejected Dubey's account and repeatedly demanded the arrest of those accused in the case. She said her son called her shortly before the incident and told her he would return in five minutes after Dubey called him outside. She alleged that he had been subjected to physical and mental torture and said she had handed over evidence to investigators.- Ends

Divyesh Singh is one of the leading crime journalists in the country. A seasoned investigative journalist with experience of over 15 years in journalism covering Crime, Internal security, Defence, Central Agencies, and Rural issues, he has a number of exclusive breaks and investigative stories to his name. Presently working with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Aajtak / India Today based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Some of his stories to recall are 'Confessions of members from radical organisation in a bomb blast case in which they had been acquitted, Fodder scam in drought affected areas of Maharashtra, Crypto currency scam worth hundreds of crores ,Financial scam targeting US citizens, Black-marketing of life saving Covid19 drugs'. Many such investigations have been appreciated by law enforcement agencies and he has been awarded and appreciated twice by the Maharashtra police for helping the agency crack two serious cases, one a financial scam worth crores and another a double murder case. His coverage in the actor Sushant Singh Rajput death case brought to light the facts in the case, while reported a series of exclusives in the Yes Bank DHFL case and Iqbal Mirchi case on India Today / Aajtak. His coverage on crime underworld and narcotics has been extensive and indepth.

Ashish Srivastava has eight years of experience in journalism. He completed his masters in journalism before training at the Dainik Jagran and working with a regional channel.