Cops Declare Woman Dead. A Month Later, She Walks Into Police Station

A 26-year-old "missing" woman, who Maharashtra Police said had been "murdered" by her father and brother, has been found alive and well, officials said on Thursday.

The woman, Shivani Kalmekar, went missing in April from the Khaknar area of Burhanpur district in Madhya Pradesh. According to Abhishek Jadhav, in charge of Khaknar police station in Burhanpur, families of Shivani and Arun Dadu Kalmekar (24) had lodged missing complaints.

The families, both residents of Khadki village, had lodged the complaints earlier this month, a few days after they went missing.

In the first week of May, when Shivani's family was still searching for her, police recovered the body of an unidentified woman near Rajura Dam, under the jurisdiction of the Jalgaon Jamod police station of Buldhana district of Maharashtra. They said it was Shivani's.

Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh and Buldhana in Maharashtra are adjoining districts.

Following the recovery of the headless and partially charred body of the unidentified young woman, Maharashtra police arrested Shivani's father Bapuram Kalmekar (55) and brother Ajay Kalmekar (27), on murder charges.

However, Khaknar police have now traced both Shivani and Arun. Shivani, who was officially declared dead by Maharashtra police, walked into the Jalgaon-Jamod police station on Thursday to record her statement.

"During our investigation, we found that Arun was working as a labourer near Nashik in Maharashtra and Shivani was staying with him. The couple has been traced," Jadhav said.

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 and brother. Residents of Burhanpur have also expressed anger over their arrest.

"I am alive. Nothing wrong has happened to me. My father and brother should be released," the 16-year-old said.

According to inspector Nitin Patil from Jalgaon-Jamod police station, Madhya Pradesh's Khaknar police had already informed him on Wednesday that Shivani was alive.

(With inputs from Amol Saraf)