'If not Shivani, then who?': Woman walks into police station, seeks release of dad and bro held for her ‘killing’'

INDORE: In a twist to what was assumed to be a murder case, a young woman whose father and brother were jailed on charges of ‘killing’ her after she went missing, walked into a police station nearly a month later, prompting police officials to reopen the case.

The dramatic event unfolded on May 27 night, when the ‘missing’ woman, Shivani, arrived at Khaknar police station in MP’s Burhanpur district and told the cops that she was alive and well, and wanted her father and brother released from jail. That left the investigators wondering as to whose charred and headless body recovered from Maharashtra had they earlier believed to be Shivani’s?

Burhanpur SP Ashutosh Bagri said Shivani went missing on April 24. Her family searched for her extensively, before reporting the matter topolice on May 1. During investigation, it was found that a local youth named Arjun had disappeared around the same time, and a missing report about him was registered on May 9. Police later learned that the woman and the youth had left together.

Meanwhile, a headless and partially burnt body of a young woman was found in Jamod area of Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district. Based on the missing person records uploaded on the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network Systems, Maharashtra Police contacted their counterparts in Burhanpur.

Not Shivani, then whose body was it: Police to start fresh investigation

The investigators suspected the body to be that of Shivani. Her father Bapurao and brother Ajay were arrested on the suspicion of murdering her and sent to Buldhana jail in Maharashtra.

After Shivani learnt her family members had been jailed for her ‘murder’, she contacted her relatives and later appeared at Khaknar police station. She told police that she had voluntarily left home with Arjun, and sought immediate release of her father and brother.

Her identity was confirmed through thumb impressions and government-issued identification documents in the presence of relatives and witnesses, police said, adding that legal formalities for the release of her father and brother would begin soon.

The case would now be reinvestigated from scratch to identify the headless corpse, police said.