India, Oct. 16 -- LUCKNOW A businessman falls to his death from a fourth-floor apartment near Ballu Adda. Within 24 hours, his live-in partner-a social media influencer-is booked for murder and goes off the radar, even as she claims from hiding that he died by suicide.

In the days since the 28-year-old businessman Shiva Sharma's fatal fall on October 9, the investigation has played out less in police files and more on smartphone screens. Between October 9 and 15, five videos and one audio clip attributed to influencer Shraddha Dubey and Sharma surfaced in quick succession.

They offer fragments of a turbulent four-month acquaintance - featuring a mysterious figure referred to only as "Sir," a threat of jail, a vehicle pledged against unp...