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Archana Tiwari, a practising lawyer from Madhya Pradesh, was reportedly under intense pressure from her family to marry, prompting her to devise a plan to fake her “disappearance”.
Madhya Pradesh lawyer Archana Tiwari faked her own disappearance. (IANS)
A lawyer from Madhya Pradesh aspiring to become a civil judge, mysteriously went missing, prompting an intense search effort by the police. However, in a strange turn of events, it turned out that she had faked her own disappearance as part of a meticulous plan to evade her family.
Archana Tiwari was “under intense pressure from her family to abandon her studies and marry a Patwari”, according to Railway Superintendent of Police Rahul Kumar Lodha. Amid mounting proposals and emotional strain, she confided in her friend, Saransh, and they hatched a plan to ‘disappear’.
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Their plan reportedly involved an ‘accident’ on the Narmada Express, where Archana’s legal acumen came in handy. “She deliberately left her bag on the train to simulate a fall, switched coaches at Narmadapuram — where CCTV coverage was absent — and instructed Tejinder, another accomplice, to dispose of her mobile phone in the forests of Bagratawa near Itarsi,” the officer told IANS.
However, Tejinder, a driver, was later arrested by the Delhi Police in a separate fraud case during the period, which made it difficult for the police to advance the investigation into Archana’s “investigation”.
A Meticulous Escape Plan
Archana planned her mysterious disappearance along with her 2-3 friends. Police said Saranash, Archana’s friend, had purchased a new phone and a SIM card registered in his father’s name, while leaving his own phone in Indore to create a false location and digital footprint.
The duo bypassed toll booths and purchased a new mobile mid-journey to avoid detection. Archana also used WhatsApp calls to obscure her trail. As media coverage over her disappearance intensified, Archana and Saransh moved to Hyderabad, then travelled to Kathmandu, Nepal, via Jodhpur and Delhi.
She de-boarded at Itarsi railway station and then went to Shujalpur in Shajapur district and lived there for two days. After that, she moved to Hyderabad and then to Jodhpur. Further, she reached New Delhi and then went to Nepal.
Archana’s bag, which contained Raksha Bandhan gifts, was found at the Umaria station, drawing widespread attention. Her last known communication was a call to her aunt on August 7, after which her phone went silent.
How Did Police Locate Her?
Saransh later returned to Indore and was detained by the police. Police then tracked Archana’s movements using mobile data and witness accounts, eventually locating her in Lakhimpur Kheri in UP. Officers persuaded her to come to the India-Nepal border, where she was apprehended and flown back to Bhopal on Wednesday.
“Archana Tiwari made this plan to avoid her marriage. She assumed that if she remained missing for a few days, her family would stop talking about her marriage, and then she would be back to her life again. However, extensive media coverage made her talk to her family and disclose her current location,” Lodha informed.
Babita Kataria, a woman police officer who recovered Archana Tiwari at the India-Nepal border (Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh), said that she was alone in Nepal. Archana has been handed over to her family.
Meanwhile, investigators discovered Archana had been in contact with Ram Tomar, a constable posted at Gwalior’s Bhanwarpura police station. He had booked a bus ticket for her from Indore to Gwalior, though she never used it. The constable was detained on August 18 and was under interrogation.
(with IANS inputs)
About the Author
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More
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Bhopal, India, India
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