A 28-year-old woman who was presumed dead after her family identified a decomposed body as hers has returned home 27 months after she went missing, leaving police to unravel the mystery of the unidentified woman whose body was cremated in her name.
Shivani reached her parental home in Navikot Nandana village under Bakshi Ka Talab (BKT) tehsil on Saturday, leaving her family stunned.
According to reports, she had gone missing on May 2, 2024. Two months later, a decomposed body was recovered from a drain behind IIM Road, and her family identified it as Shivani’s at the medical college. The body was subsequently cremated at Bhaisakund.
However, a DNA test conducted by police did not match Shivani, BKT ACP Vikas Pandey said.
“Since the body was decomposed and could not be recognised, the family identified it based on a few things. Later, the DNA examination did not match,” Pandey said.
The body was recovered in the Sairpur police station area on July 16, 2024. The family had identified it based on a kalava tied around the wrist and a ring on the finger, officials said.
Shivani’s family had accused her in-laws of killing her over dowry. An FIR was registered against them under relevant sections, including provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act and abduction-related charges. After the DNA test established that the body was not Shivani’s, the dowry-related provisions were removed from the FIR, police said.
According to police sources, Shivani told investigators that she had been living in Para with a man identified as Javed, who looks after a municipal toilet there. She reportedly said she met him in Para and that he had repeatedly asked her to return home, but she chose not to.
Police said they were now trying to establish where Shivani stayed during the 27 months she was missing and the circumstances in which she left home. Investigators will also examine whether she had been living with Javed voluntarily or had been kept against her will.
“She will be produced before a magistrate, and further investigation will proceed based on her statement before the magistrate,” Pandey said.
Her return has also reopened the mystery of the body cremated in her name. Police are examining the original identification, the DNA test and the circumstances surrounding Shivani’s disappearance, while the case against her in-laws is also likely to be reviewed.
