Shraddha Dubey, the main accused in the death of Lucknow businessman and café owner Shiva Sharma, was produced before a court in Nagpur on Wednesday after her arrest in Maharashtra, and the court granted her transit remand to be taken to Lucknow. Her sister Rashmi Dubey and their driver Tanveer Ali, also known as Danish, were arrested in the same operation. The three will now be brought to Lucknow, where the case is being investigated.
Shiva Sharma Case: An 11-Day Search Ends in Nagpur
The three were arrested in Nagpur on October 20 by a joint team of the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) and Lucknow Police, with assistance from the Nagpur Police. Investigators had been tracking them for several days, and the search extended across locations in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, as well as areas near the India-Nepal border.
According to reports, a vehicle registered in Shraddha's name was found abandoned near Rupaidiha in Bahraich district, close to the Nepal border. Investigators pursued leads on the trio's movements from there before locating them in Nagpur.
After the arrests, the three were produced before a local court in Nagpur to complete the legal formalities for their transfer to Uttar Pradesh. An arrest and a transit remand do not establish guilt, and the allegations in the case are yet to be tested through the investigation and the judicial process.
What Is Transit Remand?
Transit remand is the legal procedure that allows police to take an arrested person from the place of arrest to another jurisdiction where the criminal case is registered. When a person is arrested in one state but is wanted in a case in another, the police seek the court's permission to transport the person to the investigating jurisdiction.
In this case, the Nagpur proceedings allow the Uttar Pradesh Police to take Shraddha Dubey and the other two accused to Lucknow. Once in Lucknow, investigators can question them about the circumstances of Shiva Sharma's death and examine the evidence gathered so far.
The death on October 9 and the family's complaint
Shiva Sharma died after falling from the fourth floor of Awadh Green Apartments in the Baloo Adda area of Lucknow's Hazratganj locality on October 9, 2026. His mother, Ranjana Sharma, subsequently filed a complaint alleging that her son had been subjected to physical and mental harassment before his death.
On the basis of the complaint, a murder case was registered under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The family has alleged that Shiva's death was a murder and not an accident, and has demanded a thorough investigation into the circumstances of his fall. These allegations have not been established in court, and investigators will have to assess the medical evidence, CCTV footage, witness statements and other material to determine what happened.
Shraddha's denial and the evidence under scrutiny
Before her arrest, Shraddha Dubey released videos on social media denying the allegations against her. She claimed that Shiva had died by suicide and said CCTV footage from the apartment could support her version of events. She also disputed the family's allegations and questioned claims about her relationship with Shiva, maintaining that the accusations against her were false. Her statements are her defence and do not independently establish how Shiva died.
CCTV recordings from the apartment complex, statements from residents and other witnesses, medical findings and digital evidence are expected to be central to the investigation. Reports have also referred to WhatsApp conversations allegedly submitted by Shiva's family, whose authenticity, context and relevance will need independent examination. The next stage is the questioning of the three accused in Lucknow, through which investigators will compare the rival accounts against the available evidence.
