Her husband went to jail for her 'murder' — 12 years later, she's found alive

A woman believed to have been murdered 12 years ago — a case that led to the arrest of her husband and members of his family — has been found alive in a neighbouring Indian state.

The extraordinary discovery has reopened a 2014 murder case in Bihar and left investigators with another mystery: Who was the woman whose body was recovered from a canal and identified as hers?

Shakuntala Devi disappeared from her marital home in Bihar's Rohtas district in 2014.

Her brother reported her missing and told police that she had complained of harassment by her in-laws over dowry demands.

Two days after the case was registered, the body of an unidentified woman was recovered from a canal near Khanda village.

Shakuntala's brother and a local official reportedly identified the body as hers.

A post-mortem examination was conducted, and murder-related provisions were subsequently added to the case.

Husband and relatives arrested

Shakuntala's husband, Arun Mehta, his father Dilip and his brother Govind Kumar were among those arrested.

Arun spent time in jail before obtaining bail, while legal proceedings continued.

The family also claims the case eventually ended in a financial settlement.

According to their lawyer, Shakuntala's family demanded Rs 800,000 to settle the dispute.

The Mehta family alleges they had to sell ancestral land to raise the money.

For years, the case rested on one assumption: Shakuntala was dead.

Then came an unexpected tip.

Spotted alive in another state

Around two months ago, according to the family's lawyer, Shakuntala's father-in-law received information that she had been spotted in neighbouring Jharkhand.

Family members travelled there and said they recognised her.

They subsequently approached Rohtas police.

An investigation traced the woman to Labhari village in Jharkhand's Garhwa district.

Police said she had been living there under the name Kanti Devi with another man.

Police brought her back to Rohtas and produced her before a court in Sasaram.

Authorities have now initiated proceedings against her over allegations including fraud and criminal conspiracy.

The allegations remain subject to investigation.

Whose body was found?

Finding Shakuntala alive has created a second investigation into events that took place more than a decade ago.

Police say they are effectively starting again.

Investigators now want to establish the identity of the woman whose body was recovered from the canal in 2014 — and determine how it came to be identified as Shakuntala.

They will also examine why Shakuntala's brother identified the body as his sister.

Police said they would take appropriate legal action against anyone found to have committed wrongdoing once the investigation is complete.