Indore: Bizarre Twist in Murder Case as Missing Woman Returns Alive
In a bizarre twist to what was assumed to be a murder case, a young woman whose father and brother were jailed for ‘killing’ her walked into a police station alive and well, nearly a month after she went missing, prompting the police to reopen the case.
Dramatic events unfolded on May 27 night when the ‘missing’ woman, Shivani, arrived at Khaknar police station of Madhya Pradesh’s Burhanpur district, telling the sleuths that she was alive and wanted her father and brother released from jail. With the ‘missing’ Shivani turning up alive, the sleuths were faced with a larger, confounding question — whose charred and headless body was it in Maharashtra that they had earlier believed to be hers?
Background of the Case
Burhanpur SP Ashutosh Bagri said Shivani went missing on April 24. Her family searched for her extensively in vain before filing a missing person’s complaint on May 1, the police said, adding that during investigation, they found that a local youth named Arjun had disappeared around the same time. A missing complaint about the youth was registered on May 9, the sleuths said, adding that they later learned that the ‘missing’ woman and the youth had left together.
Discovery of a Headless Body
Meanwhile, the police in the Jamod area of Maharashtra’s Jalgaon recovered a headless and partially burnt body of a young woman that could not be identified. Based on missing person records uploaded on the CCTNS network, Maharashtra Police contacted their counterparts in Burhanpur. After examining the circumstances around the missing case, the investigators suspected the body to be Shivani’s. Thereafter, Shivani’s father Bapurao and brother Ajay were arrested on suspicion of murdering her and sent to Buldhana jail in Maharashtra.
Shivani Returns Alive
However, the case took a curious twist after Shivani learnt that her family members had been jailed in connection with her alleged murder. She then contacted her relatives, after which Khaknar police traced both Shivani and Arjun. Shivani told police that she had voluntarily left with Arjun on April 24 and both were alive, adding that she wanted her father and brother to be released from jail immediately. Shivani’s identity was confirmed through thumb impressions and govt-issued identification documents in the presence of relatives and witnesses, the police said.
Investigation Resumes
Maharashtra Police later took Shivani and Arjun to Jamod for further investigation. Officers said legal formalities for the release of her father and brother from jail would begin shortly. Police said the case would now be reinvestigated from scratch to identify the headless female corpse and determine how a case of mistaken identity led to two innocent family members being jailed in a murder case that never was.
