A woman over whose ‘death’ her husband and in-laws were facing a dowry death case for two years has now been found alive.
The 20-year-old had gone missing from her marital home in Uttar Pradesh’s Auraiya district in 2023 and, when she could not be found for some time, her family registered a missing person’s case on October 23 that year. When no trace of her could be found even after extensive searches, her family said she was killed for dowry and, on the orders of a court, a case was registered against her husband and six in-laws, including under Section 304B (dowry death) of the Indian Penal Code.
The case was on for two years and was taken up by the Special Operations Group and surveillance teams of the Uttar Pradesh police, who traced her to Madhya Pradesh.
Auraiya Circle Officer Ashok Kumar Singh said, “The woman went missing a year and a half after she got married. A missing person’s complaint was filed by her family and then, on the court’s direction, a case was registered against the husband and some of her in-laws.”
“The investigation was on and we managed to trace her to Madhya Pradesh. She was brought back to Auraiya on Wednesday and further probe is on,” he added.
Officials said they are investigating what the woman was doing in Madhya Pradesh and why she did not try to establish contact with her family or in-laws for so long. “This will certainly impact the case in court,” said an official.