‘Murdered’ woman in Bihar turns up alive in Jharkhand, was living with lover

A woman believed to have been murdered in Bihar’s Rohtas district 12 years ago and whose husband, father-in-law and six relatives were sent to jail for the crime has been found living with her paramour in Jharkhand’s Garhwa district, according to police officers aware of the development.

“The woman, Saraswati Devi alias Kanti Devi, was produced before a court in Sasaram on Saturday following a case registered against her for misleading the police,” Rohtas SP Raj said.

According to the woman’s father-in-law, Dilip Mehta, his son Arun Mehta of Balrati Bigha, married Saraswati Devi, a resident of Pirauta village in Aurangabad district, in 2002. The couple had a son after two years into the marriage. Twelve years later, in 2014, Devi ran off with Rattu Singh, a fellow villager without the family’s knowledge.

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On August 22 that year, the body of an unidentified woman was recovered from a canal near Khanda village in the Dehri Mufassil police station area. The woman’s brother identified the body as his sister’s. The village chowkidar also identified the body as that of Saraswati Devi. Following the autopsy, the body was cremated. Subsequently, a murder case was registered against eight people, including the woman’s husband and father-in-law, and they were sent to jail. However, the in-laws reached a settlement with the woman’s family by paying ₹3 lakh. After this, the accused were released, Mehta said.

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In 2026, the family learnt that Saraswati Devi had changed her name and was living with Rattu Singh at Labhari Kala village, in Jharkhand. Her father-in-law informed SP Raj, who sent a police team that found the woman in Jharkhand.

The police are now working to determine the identity of the woman whose body was recovered from the canal, Raj said.