INDORE: A mother of two declared dead nearly 18 months ago has suddenly reappeared in MP’s Mandsaur, leaving both her family and police in disbelief.
Four men are already in jail for her ‘murder’. Police now have a lot of explaining to do in the case, and a murder to solve. Who was the woman the family identified and cremated?
In Sept 2023, The woman’s family reported her missing from Gandhi Sagar, 120km from Mandsaur district headquarters and close to the Rajasthan border,
A few days later, a woman’s decomposed body was found in Jhabua district’s Thandla, along Mumbai-Delhi highway (150km from Mandsaur), Thandla police station in charge Brijesh Malviya told TOI on Thursday. Her face and head were crushed with a heavy stone.
Police circulated the picture on social media and uploaded it on the crime tracking system CCTNS. “We received a call from Gandhi Sagar. Some family members came and identified the woman as their daughter from a tattoo and a thread around her ankle. They also gave statements that their daughter had eloped with one Shahrukh. Based on their statements Shahrukh and his accomplices were detained, produced in court and sent to jail,” said Malviya.
The body was cremated, and Thandla police registered a murder case against four suspects: Shahrukh, Imran, Sonu, and Ejaz from Bhanpura, 30km from Gandhi Sagar. “We had sufficient evidence to prove that they committed the crime, so the chargesheet was put up. The matter is in court now and I cannot comment on it,” Malviya added.
The woman’s family were stunned when she returned home a few days ago. Her two children, believing their mother was dead, were overwhelmed with joy. Her family immediately took her to Gandhi Sagar police station with her Aadhaar card, voter ID, and other documents to prove her identity.
Gandhi Sagar police station in charge Taruna Bhardwaj confirmed that the woman thought to be dead approached them a few days ago, saying she was alive. Police crosschecked her identity with villagers and family members.
Her father said, “Our daughter was missing. Police showed us a body that we believed was hers. We never imagined she was alive and would return.”
Authorities are now trying to piece together what happened during the last 18 months and whose body was cremated by the family.
The woman has told police that she had willingly gone to Bhanpura with Shahrukh, but just two days later, he allegedly sold her to another person, also named Shahrukh, for Rs 5 lakh. She lived with the second Shahrukh in Kota for 18 months, always looking for an opportunity to escape, she told police.
A few days ago, she managed to break out and headed for home. “I took help from locals to reach my village. I did not have a phone and was not allowed to go anywhere, so I couldn’t contact my family all this while,” said.
Bhardwaj said: “We have informed our seniors and officers of Thandla police station about this unexpected development. The reinvestigation or further investigation will be carried out by Thandla police.”
What about the four men in jail for her ‘murder’? Jhabua SP Padmavilochan Shukla said, “We are waiting for court orders after which further action will be taken.” Asked whose body was cremated by the family, Malviya said it is part of the investigation.
