In 2014, after the body of a woman was found in a canal in Rohtas district of Bihar, the police faced the challenge of identifying her. Shakuntala Devi's brother was called to identify the body. He said the body was that of his missing sister. After this, the matter was not limited to just missing persons, but a case of murder was registered against Shakuntala's husband Arun Mehta and her in-laws. The family members had to go to jail and even had to sell their ancestral land to settle the case.
But after about a decade, there was a twist in this story, which raised questions on the entire picture of the old case. Police received information that Shakuntala Devi, who was considered dead years ago, was living alive in a village in the neighboring state of Jharkhand. There she changed her identity and was living under the name of Kanti Devi.
Know the whole matter in 10 points
1. Shakuntala Devi was married to Arun Mehta in 2002. According to her lawyer Shahnawaz Ahmed, after marriage there were disputes in the family regarding dowry. It is alleged that she was being harassed by her in-laws. In 2014, Shakuntala had left home without informing her family. Even after a lot of searching, no trace of him was found. After this, on August 20, 2014, his brother lodged a missing report with the police.
2. Two days after Shakuntala's missing report was filed, the woman's body was found in a canal near Khanda village of Dehri Mufassil police station area. The body was identified as that of Shakuntala's sister by her brother and the local watchman. The body was sent for post-mortem and later the post-mortem report was presented in the court. After this, Shakuntala's missing case turned into a murder case.
3. Initially, action was taken in the case under Section 498A of the IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. After the body was found, provisions related to murder were also added. In this case, Shakuntala's husband Arun Mehta, her father Dilip Mehta and brother Govind Kumar and others were arrested.
4. According to the Mehta family, the matter later ended through a settlement. The family claims that Shakuntala's family had demanded Rs 8 lakh for the settlement. After the agreement, the family accepted that Shakuntala had died. After this, for years the belief remained that the body found in the canal in 2014 was his.
5. After about a decade, a new twist came in this story when Dilip Mehta got information that his daughter-in-law had been seen in a village in Jharkhand. Shakuntala's lawyer said, “About two months ago, Dilip Mehta came to know that his daughter-in-law was seen in a village in Jharkhand.” After this the family contacted the Rohtas police. The police started investigation after receiving the information.
6. During the investigation, the police traced the woman to Labhari village of Kandi police station area in Garhwa district of Jharkhand. According to the police, she was living there not in the name of Shakuntala Devi, but with the identity of Kanti Devi.
7. An officer said, “She was living as Kanti Devi instead of Shakuntala Devi and was living with a person named Rattu Singh.” After this the police brought him to Rohtas and he was produced in the court of Sasaram.
8. After Shakuntala was found alive, the biggest question that has arisen before the police is the identity of the body recovered in 2014. The police is now trying to find out which woman's body it was and on what basis it was identified as Shakuntala.
9. A police officer said “The case is now being investigated afresh. We are trying to find out whose body was recovered first and how it was identified as Shakuntala. After a thorough investigation, appropriate legal action will be taken against anyone found involved in any foul play.”
10. After Shakuntala was found alive, the biggest mystery of this case has now become the identity of the body of that unknown woman. The real identity of the dead body against which a murder case was registered about 10 years ago as Shakuntala's, has not been revealed yet.