Vanished & Reborn: Court grants new life to woman who ran home, changed identity & appearance, got traced after 5 yrs

In an intriguing case that had investigators puzzled for five long years, the Women’s Safety Wing and Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of Telangana have finally unraveled the mystery surrounding a woman who vanished, wiped out her digital presence, and embarked on a completely new life with a different identity.

This gripping story began when a 36-year-old married woman from a well-off family mysteriously disappeared from the Humayunnagar area of the city on June 29, 2018. She skillfully removed all traces of her digital and personal identity, even changing her religion. She went on to marry another man and altered her appearance while starting a new life, working with an NGO in Maharashtra.

Initially, her disappearance was thought to be related to a dispute with her husband, as her father filed a habeas corpus petition in the Telangana High Court. After years of investigation, a breakthrough came when investigators discovered that she had updated her Aadhaar card, which led them to locate her in Goa with the help of facial recognition and digital investigation techniques.

Shikha Goel, the Additional Director General of Police in the Women’s Safety Wing, stated, “While we have used digital technology to find missing individuals before, this case is exceptional. Initially, we suspected family disputes, but it turned out to be a case of someone erasing their digital and personal identity to start anew.”

The woman’s disappearance in 2018 involved her leaving her mobile phone at home without informing her family, locking them inside. This was not her first disappearance; she had gone missing twice before in 2014 and 2015 during disputes with her husband but had returned home on those occasions. In 2018, her father filed a dowry harassment complaint, alleging her disappearance was due to harassment by her husband, leading to a registered case.

The investigation began with the analysis of CCTV footage, which revealed that she had left her home voluntarily. However, the trail went cold until her father filed a writ petition in the High Court in 2019, prompting the involvement of the Women’s Safety Wing and Anti-Human Trafficking Unit.

Sub-inspector P Harish from the Women’s Safety Wing revealed that leads came from her friends who disclosed that she had used a different mobile phone to book a cab. Her voice recording with the cab company and her initial trip to Pune provided valuable leads. Unfortunately, the investigation hit a roadblock when she sold her phone, and the pandemic further complicated the probe.

The breakthrough finally came when investigators discovered that her Aadhaar card had been updated recently. This update included a change from Telugu to Marathi and alterations to her religion and husband’s name. These changes led to the discovery of her bank account details, followed by a digital investigation that unveiled her new identity on social media.

A police officer said, “By using the updated Aadhaar details, we found her bank account information. Through digital investigative tools, we traced her social media accounts under her new name. Her Instagram posts indicated she was in Goa, involved in social work. We established her identity using facial recognition technology.”

The police apprehended her in Goa and presented her before the court. During her court appearance, she expressed her desire for independence, a request that the court granted. Sub-inspector Harish added, “Her new husband only discovered her true identity when we arrived.”