Written by Neetika JhaAligarh, Hathras | October 11, 2025 03:12 PM IST 3 min readAccording to police, Pooja was arrested on Friday evening from the Jaipur-Agra Highway. (Express photo)Nearly two weeks after a 24-year-old Aligarh businessman was shot dead while boarding a public transport bus, police said they have arrested Pooja Shakun Pandey, wife of Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM) spokesperson Ashok Pandey, in connection with the case.According to police, Pooja was arrested on Friday evening from the Jaipur-Agra Highway. Her arrest comes nearly a week after the police had arrested her husband and the two shooters the couple allegedly hired, Mohammad Fazal and Mohammad Asif, to kill the businessman, Abhishek Gupta, for Rs 3 lakh.Speaking to The Indian Express, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Aligarh, Neeraj Kumar Jadaun, said Pooja was arrested from Bharatpur late Friday night. “Abhishek’s family claimed she had been sexually harassing him over a period of time and allegedly planned to kill him after he broke all ties with her,” said the SSP.Pooja, the Mahamandaleshwar of Niranjani Akhara, had courted controversy in 2019 — she was allegedly the ABHM national secretary at the time — when she was arrested, along with her husband, for “recreating” the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary.A purported video showed her firing three shots at Mahatma Gandhi’s effigy with an air pistol, after which it was torched.Jadaun, who was Additional Superintendent of Police, had led the arrest of 11 people. “Of the 11 people, Abhishek was also arrested in that case,” he said.Abhishek hailed from Hathras and owned a bike showroom in Aligarh’s Khair area.Story continues below this adOn September 26, police said Abhishek, his father and cousin were waiting at Khaireshwar roundabout to take a bus to Hathras when he was shot dead.In his complaint to the police, Abhishek’s younger brother, Ashish Gupta, alleged, “My father and cousin got into the bus. Abhishek was stopped by two men on a bike. They fired at him and fled the scene. He was fatally wounded in the head…”Superintendent of Police, Aligarh (City), Mrigank Shekhar Pathak told The Indian Express that preliminary investigation revealed that it was a business deal that went sour between Pooja and Abhishek.Earlier, Pathak had said the police arrested Pandey and Fazal. The latter had been employed at the couple’s house since 2016. “We have found that a deal was struck for Rs 3 lakh, of which Rs 1 lakh was already paid,” SP Pathak said.Asif was arrested last week, said police.Neetika Jha is a Correspondent with The Indian Express. She covers crime, health, environment as well as stories of human interest, in Noida, Ghaziabad and western UP. When not on the field she is probably working on another story idea. On weekends, she loves to read fiction over a cup of coffee. The Thursday Murder club, Yellow Face and Before the Coffee Gets Cold were her recent favourites. She loves her garden as much as she loves her job. She is an alumnus of Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:AligarhUttar Pradesh