In an astonishing turn of events that has left a village in Bihar in disbelief, a woman who was presumed to have been murdered seven years ago returned to her home alive and well, accompanied by her young daughter. The incident in Bara-Govind village under the Chakiya police station area in Motihari has exposed a complex web of allegations and a fabricated legal case.
The Disappearance and the Murder Allegation
The story begins with the marriage of Manju Kumari, daughter of Indrasan Bhagat from Basman village, to Upendra Bhagat of Bara-Govind village on March 4, 2018. Within a few months of the wedding, Manju mysteriously vanished from her husband's residence.
Following her disappearance, her father took serious legal action. On November 9, 2018, he filed a formal complaint in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) in Motihari. In his complaint, he alleged that his daughter had been murdered by her husband and in-laws due to ongoing dowry demands. He further claimed that her body had been disposed of to eliminate evidence.
Acting on the court's directive, Chakiya police registered Case No. 294/18. The subsequent investigation, supervised by senior officers, initially supported the father's claims, finding them prima facie true. As a result, five individuals, including Manju's husband, father-in-law, and mother-in-law, were named as the primary accused. Fearing immediate arrest, all the accused reportedly went into hiding.
A Dramatic Raid and a Shocking Discovery
The case, which had seen attempts at an out-of-court settlement that slowed proceedings, took a dramatic and unexpected twist on Friday. Acting on specific intelligence, a police team led by Sub-Inspector Mausam Kumar conducted a raid. The target was not the accused's home, but the house of Manju's own parents in Basman village.
To everyone's shock, the raid revealed Manju Kumari living there. She was not only alive but had returned with her minor daughter. During police questioning, Manju provided a completely different narrative from the one her father had presented in court.
The Truth Unveiled and Its Consequences
Manju confessed to the police that she had voluntarily left her husband's house. She revealed that she had traveled to Ahmedabad, where she remarried and had been living with her new husband and child. She had only recently returned to her parental home in Bihar.
In a clear refutation of her father's grave allegations, Manju stated that she was never murdered and that her in-laws had not made any dowry demands. "The case filed by my father is completely false. I ran away because I was fed up with my in-laws," she told the authorities.
This revelation has turned the entire episode on its head. Police officials highlighted the severe repercussions of such fabricated cases. They emphasized that false accusations not only cause irreparable damage to the lives of innocent people who are branded as criminals but also represent a serious misuse of precious police resources and time that could be dedicated to genuine crimes.
The return of Manju Kumari has resolved a seven-year-old mystery but has opened up new legal and familial complexities, making it the central talking point across the Motihari region.
