The police did not find any indication of a highway robbery from CCTV footage in the spot in West Bengal’s Howrah district where Jharkhand actress Riya Kumari was shot dead, as claimed by her husband who was arrested in connection with the case, an officer said on Saturday.

Kumari’s brother-in-law was also arrested for the murder that took place in the Bagnan area on National Highway 16 on December 28 when she, along with her husband Prakash Kumar and two-year-old daughter, was going to Kolkata in a car.

The officer said none of the two arrested persons could explain why the police assistance booth, located near the reported murder spot, was not approached by the husband immediately after she was hit by a bullet.

“Also, the CCTV footage in the area did not indicate any robbery attempt or shooting down of Kumari by any gang as claimed by the husband of the deceased woman. We need to interrogate the two further,” the officer said.

While her husband is a film producer, her brother-in-law is a YouTuber. They were arrested on the basis of a complaint lodged by Kumari’s family.

Riya Kumari, a native of Hazaribag in Jharkhand, was a popular face in Nagpuri music videos on YouTube, besides acting in a few Nagpuri films. Known to be very soft-spoken in the film industry, she lived in Ranchi’s Morabadi area.

The officer said it was also being probed if the in-laws’ family of the deceased woman were not happy with the lifestyle of the actress.

“We are also closely monitoring the social networking accounts of the deceased and her husband and other family members to find any clue about the incident,” he said.

The husband told the police that a gang of three men attacked him around 6 am, trying to rob his belongings. When his wife rushed to rescue him, they shot her and fled the spot immediately.

He also told police that he took his wife to the vehicle and drove about 3 km in search of help. When he saw some people along the highway in Kulgachia-Pirtala, he narrated the incident to them.

These locals helped Kumar take his wife to the SCC Medical College and Hospital in Uluberia where doctors declared her brought dead, police said.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)