MP: Woman Lawyer Fakes Own Disappearance To Avoid Marriage For Study, Found After 13 Days In UP

Archana Tiwari (29), a resident of Katni in Madhya Pradesh, was traced at the Indo-Nepal border on Tuesday, 13 days after her disappearance from a train on August seven.

She was brought back to Bhopal on Wednesday, police said.

The young lawyer while plotting her disappearance at a roadside eatery (dhaba) in Harda, around 80 km from here, along with her friend, Sarans Jogchandra, in the first week of the current month, used her legal acumen to ensure that either she or her friends involved in her ‘self-exile’ does not land in any kind of legal trouble, according to the police.

“She has lodged no complaint against anybody nor has she violated any law during her disappearance and hence, it does not make any case for the police”, GRP superintendent of police Rahul Kumar Lodha said.

She was traced to the India-Nepal border when she called her mother on phone on Tuesday night, prompting the police to spring to action and persuade her to cross to Uttar Pradesh so that she could be brought to Bhopal for reunion with her family, police said.

The whole drama started when Ms. Tiwari, who was preparing for civil judge examination by remaining in a hostel in Indore, left for her home in Katni by Narmada Express on August seven on the occasion of ‘Raksha Bandhan’ festival.

Her family members were shocked to learn that she was not in the train when it reached Katni railway station on August nine and her bag was found abandoned in her seat in B-3 coach.

They then filed a missing complaint with the GRP, prompting the police to search for her.

She was last seen by her co-passengers in the train till Bhopal, police said.

It first appeared a blind case since she was not spotted in any CCTV footage in any railway station.

Police investigations have revealed that she had changed her coach from B-3 to A-2 at Narmadapuram railway station and moved out through the outer of the railway station to avoid CCTVs.

She was given new clothes by one Tejinder Singh, who was known to Sarans, at Narmadapuram railway station.

Sarans was found travelling with her in the train and both deboarded at Narmadapuram and left for Sujalpur in Shajapur district in Madhya Pradesh.

Sarans is a native of Shujalpur.

Before leaving for Shujalpur, she had asked Tejinder to dispose of her mobile phone in the nearby forest.

Later, Tejinder was arrested by Delhi police in connection with a fraud case which hindered the GRP from making any breakthrough in the case.

She and Sarans later left for Hyderabad and then travelled to Kathmandu.

Sarans however returned to Indore from Kathmandu leaving her there.

The plot unfolded when Sarans was picked up by the police.