Puja Shakun Pandey was arrested in the case involving the killing of 25-year-old Abhishek Gupta, a two-wheeler showroom owner
NEW DELHI — A prominent Hindutva leader, infamous for shooting an effigy of Mahatma Gandhi in 2019 and praising his assassin Nathuram Godse, and the main accused in the murder of a businessman in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh, was arrested from Bharatpur in Rajasthan on Saturday.
Puja Shakun Pandey, leader of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM), was arrested in the case involving the killing of 25-year-old Abhishek Gupta, a two-wheeler showroom owner, who was shot dead by two men on September 26 while boarding a bus to Hathras. Police allege that Puja and her husband, ABHM spokesperson Ashok Kumar Pandey, hired the shooters, Mohd Fazal and Asif, to murder Abhishek.
“Abhishek’s family claimed she had been sexually harassing him for some time and planned his murder after he ended all contact with her,” said Aligarh SSP Neeraj Kumar Jadaun. He added that Puja was arrested from Bharatpur late on Friday night and has been brought to Aligarh for interrogation.
Puja’s husband, Ashok Pandey, is already in judicial custody after being named in the FIR.
Abhishek was shot near Khereshwar crossing in Roravar area of Aligarh. The alleged hired shooters, Mohd Fazal and Asif, were earlier arrested and confessed to the crime. Police said the two had worked as welders at the couple’s house and were known to them.
Police sources also suggested that a dispute over a failed business deal between Puja and Abhishek might have been another reason behind the murder.
Asif, the alleged main shooter, was caught on October 3 near the Delhi-Kanpur highway in Shah Kutubpur. “Asif carried a reward of Rs 25,000 and was wanted in other criminal cases as well,” said SP (City) Mrigank Shekhar Pathak.
Puja, who also goes by the religious title Annapurna Maa and holds the position of Mahamandleshwar, had been on the run since the night of the murder. Police had announced a reward of Rs 50,000 for information leading to her arrest.
Police investigation revealed that the alleged shooters had known Puja and her husband for nearly eight years and had recently done welding work at their house. During that time, the couple allegedly offered them money to kill Abhishek. “The shooters first demanded Rs 5 lakh, but the deal was settled for Rs 3 lakh. They were paid Rs 1 lakh in advance,” said SP Pathak.
Call records show that Ashok Pandey had contacted Fazal 27 times between August and September and spoke to his absconding wife 11 times during the same period.
Abhishek was with his father when he was shot by the two bike-borne men. He was taken to a hospital but died the same night. In his complaint, Abhishek’s father accused Puja and Ashok Pandey of having strained relations with his son and held them responsible for his death.
Puja previously hogged the limelight in 2019 when she was arrested for shooting at an effigy of Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary. Godse, who shot Gandhi in the chest three times at point-blank range on 30 January 1948, was an activist with nationalist right-wing groups, including the Hindu Mahasabha.
