Lucknow-based influencer and make-up artist Shraddha Dubey, accused of killing her businessman boyfriend Shiva Sharma, has released a new video giving her account of the events leading to his death.
Shiva Sharma, who owned a chain of restaurants, died last week after allegedly falling from the fourth-floor flat of Dubey’s residence in Lucknow. In the five-minute video, Dubey claimed the two had not been speaking for six to seven days before the incident. She said that on October 7, Sharma contacted her driver through a tea vendor and was crying. She called him twice without success, after which he called her around 2 a.m. and asked to meet. They met, went to a café where he ordered drinks, and later returned to her home. She stated he had consumed a large amount of beer earlier.
On October 8, her sister Rashmi visited to discuss Navratri puja. Dubey said her sister had no connection to the case and barely knew Sharma. That evening, the sisters went for a walk with two of Sharma’s friends. Dubey claimed she also spoke to Sharma’s mother, brother-in-law and sister that day.
She said Sharma appeared depressed on October 9. After they woke up and made tea, he went to the washroom and closed the main gate, which he usually left open. When her sister later checked on him, he jumped from the balcony, according to Dubey.
She claimed that when Sharma’s mother arrived at the hospital, she began beating Dubey’s driver and immediately accused them of murder. Dubey also stated that Sharma was distressed over loans of Rs 15 to 20 lakh and had previously spoken of dying by suicide if he could not repay them.
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Dubey said they had known each other for four months and been in a relationship for about two and a half months. She denied a full live-in arrangement, saying he stayed with her for periods of up to 15 days at a time. In the video, she threatened to die by suicide if the media continued to blame her, insisting the death was not a murder and that she had not fled.
Sharma’s mother, Ranjana Sharma, has alleged that Dubey threatened to circulate obscene videos of her son and defame him, that he faced physical violence during the relationship, and that Dubey’s behaviour changed after discussions of marriage. She also claimed Dubey threatened to implicate her son in a theft case.
An FIR in the case names Shraddha Dubey, her sister Rashmi, a driver identified as Danish, an associate named Adil, and other unidentified persons as accused. Dubey, who is known as a make-up artist, model and social media influencer, separated from her husband a few years ago and moved to Lucknow after a marriage of about 10 years.