India
Archived — This article has been archived. The information may be outdated.
Bihar woman found alive a decade after murder case
The Indian Express··16 Sept
Rohtas police traced Shakuntala Devi to Jharkhand's Garhwa district after her in-laws spotted her there, counsel said. Reported missing in 2014, a canal body was identified as hers and murder charges followed against husband Arun Mehta and kin. Officers found her in Labhari village under Kandi police station living as Kanti Devi with Rattu Singh, police said.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Families who settled dowry or murder cases through compromises may revisit property sales if wrongful convictions are challenged.
- Voters and litigants in Bihar could see renewed court scrutiny when long-missing people resurface.
- Police in neighbouring states may coordinate tracing when missing-person reports cross district borders.
What's Happening
- Shakuntala married Arun Mehta in 2002 and left the marital home in 2014, her lawyer said.
- A woman's body found in a canal was identified as Shakuntala, escalating the case to murder.
- Officers brought her back to Rohtas and produced her before a Sasaram court.
When missing persons cases unravel
- The initial complaint invoked IPC Section 498A and Dowry Prohibition Act sections.
- Her family allegedly sought Rs 8 lakh in a compromise that required selling ancestral land, counsel claimed.
- She was living in Labhari village under Kandi police station jurisdiction when traced.
all-news
