A deep sense of frustration over not finding a bride followed by a viral public appeal ended in the death of a 45-year-old man in Uttar Pradesh, after a woman forged her identity to marry him and then killed him to seize his property.
Indrakumar Tiwari from Padwar (Khitola) village in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur district, who worked as a part-time teacher and farmer, had expressed his frustration about not finding a bride during a spiritual discourse by renowned Guru Aniruddhacharya Maharaj last month.
In a video that has gone viral, Indrakumar is heard telling Guru Aniruddhacharya that he owns 18 acres of land but has no one to look after his property. Rather than advice, Indrakumar was met with light-hearted banter.
The video, unfortunately, caught the attention of scamsters. Soon after, the man went missing and on June 6, his body – with a knife stuck in his neck – was recovered from the bushes on National Highway 28 in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar.
According to Kushinagar Superintendent of Police (SP) Santosh Kumar, a preliminary investigation revealed that a woman named Sahiba Bano disguised herself as “Khushi Tiwari” and approached the man on social media for marriage.
As Indrakumar and Sahiba gradually became acquainted with one another, the latter called him to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. “Khushi Tiwari contacted Indrakumar and proposed marriage to him. He agreed to marry her. The woman then laid a trap along with her associates,” Mr Kumar said.
Police said the man even told his family that he was going to Kushinagar to marry “Khushi”.
“The man reached Gorakhpur and the two got married. His body was found days later. It is suspected that the woman and her associates killed him and escaped with some jewellery and cash that he was carrying,” the SP said.
Indrakumar’s body with a knife stuck in his neck was found in Sukarouli under Hata Kotwali area in Kushinagar.
“Sahiba has been arrested. She had made a fake Aadhaar card as well. Efforts are on to nab the remaining accused. A detailed probe is underway,” the SP said.
Police in Madhya Pradesh co-ordinated with their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh to crack the case.
(With inputs from Uday Singh)
