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’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. Investigators will also examine whether she had been living with Javed voluntarily or had been kept against her will.
The body was recovered in the Sairpur police station area on July 16, 2024. 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.
However, a DNA test conducted by police did not match Shivani, BKT ACP Vikas Pandey said. The family had identified it based on a kalava tied around the wrist and a ring on the finger, officials said. After the DNA test established that the body was not Shivani’s, the dowry-related provisions were removed from the FIR, police said.
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. “Since the body was decomposed and could not be recognised, the family identified it based on a few things.
She had gone missing on May 2, 2024, according to reports.
Later, the DNA examination did not match,” Pandey said. Shivani reached her parental home in Navikot Nandana village under Bakshi Ka Talab (BKT) tehsil on Saturday, leaving her family stunned.
