Burhanpur (Madhya Pradesh), May 28 (IANS) Raising serious questions over the investigation, 26-year-old Shivani, who was presumed murdered by the Jalgaon police in Maharashtra and her father and brother arrested for the alleged crime, was later found alive in Madhya Pradesh, police said on Thursday.

According to Burhanpur Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Bagri, missing complaints of Shivani and a youth named Arun were registered at Khaknar police station by their family members on May 1 and May 9, respectively.

Meanwhile, a headless and partially charred body of an unidentified young woman, who appeared to be of the same age as Shivani’s, was found in an area under the jurisdiction of the Jalgaon police in Maharashtra. Police identified the body as that of Shivani.

“Later on, an investigation was conducted, and murder charges were added to the complaint. The girl’s father and brother were arrested,” SP Bagri told reporters.

However, police said that a subsequent investigation revealed that Shivani and Arun were together.

The case took a dramatic turn when Shivani appeared before the Burhanpur police. She declared that her father and brother were innocent and demanded their release.

Calling it a “contradictory situation”, SP Bagri said: “Here Shivani was found alive with Arun, while a murder case was registered in her name in Maharashtra.”

The incident has raised serious questions over the functioning of the police force as cops had not conducted a DNA test of the recovered body before declaring it was Shivani’s and arresting her father, Bapuram Kalmekar and brother, Ajay Kalmekar.

“We have informed the Jalgaon police about this and have handed the girl to them. They are carrying out further investigation,” the SP added.

The SP said that the girl’s biometrics have been used to confirm that she is the same person whose missing person complaint was registered.

–IANS

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