Hindu Mahasabha leader Pooja Shakun Pandey, who made headlines in 2019 for a controversial enactment of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, is on the run in a shocking murder case in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh. Her husband, Ashok Pandey, has been arrested, and police teams are looking for her. While the cops have said the couple hired a killer to murder businessman Abhishek Gupta over a monetary dispute, the victim’s father has made a chilling claim – that Abhishek had an affair with Pooja Shakun Pandey, and she ordered the hit when he wanted out.
A Businessman Murdered
The victim, 30-year-old Abhishek Gupta, owned a bike showroom. Around 9.30 pm on September 23, Abhishek, his father Neeraj Gupta, and cousin Jeetu were waiting for a bus near an intersection in Aligarh. The bus arrived, and Abhishek’s father and cousin boarded it. Before Abhishek could do so too, two men on a bike approached the bus and shot him. He was declared dead at the hospital. In his complaint to the police, Abhishek’s father, Neeraj Gupta, accused Pooja Shakun Pandey and Ashok Pandey of plotting the murder over a monetary dispute.
Ashok Pandey has been arrested and Pooja Shakun Pandey is on the run
Killer Arrested, And Plot Unravelled
The police yesterday arrested Mohammad Fazal, one of the men allegedly involved in Abhishek Gupta’s shooting. Police said that the arrested man had told them that Abhishek’s murder was a “supari (contract)” hit executed by him and his associate, Asif. He said Pooja Shakun Pandey and her husband plotted Abhishek’s murder and offered them Rs 3 lakh for killing him.
Senior police officer Neeraj Kumar Jadaun said the police managed to track Fazal down after scanning CCTV footage from the crime spot and questioning people who knew both the Pandeys and Abhishek’s family. Ashok Pandey has been arrested, and the police are looking for Pooja Shakun Pandey and Asif.
Speaking to the media, Ashok Pandey said they knew Abhishek very well and accused his father of trying to frame him in a false case. “He stayed at our place and studied. We did everything for him,” he said, adding that Abhishek’s father owes him Rs 10 lakh.
What Police Said
Police officer Jadaun also said Abhishek’s father had named Ashok Pandey and Pooja Shakun Pandey in his complaint. “Multiple teams scanned CCTV footage and conducted an in-depth investigation. We also looked at the relationship between Abhishek Gupta, Pooja Shakun Pandey, and Ashok Pandey. We have earlier arrested Ashok Pandey. Now we have arrested one of the shooters, Mohammad Fazal. We have recovered a country-made firearm from him,” he said.
The senior officer said that they had questioned Fazal and learnt that he had known the Pandeys for many years. The couple asked him to find someone who could carry out a murder. “He and Asif then held a meeting with them (Pandeys). Abhishek Gupta’s photograph was shown. The two sides agreed on Rs 3 lakh, and the shooters were given Rs 1 lakh in cash,” he said, adding that the killers carried out a recce and then murdered Abhishek.
Father’s Affair Charge
Abhishek’s father, Neeraj Gupta, told the media that his son was in a relationship with Pooja Shakun Pandey. “When my younger son married, she asked Abhishek to marry her. When my son set up his business, she started pressuring us to make her a partner,” he said.
Neeraj Gupta said Abhishek had told his mother about the affair and that he had started avoiding her. “I was scared that she might force my son to get married to her. One day, she told me, ‘Your son is acting too smart.’ She feared that he was distancing himself.”
Abhishek, he said, had blocked Pooja Shakun Pandey’s number, and that infuriated her. “She told me, ‘Your son is distancing himself.'”
Inputs by Adnan Khan
