Facebook activity helps police trace missing UP woman after 3 years

LUCKNOW: A 30-year-old woman from Gonda, presumed dead for three years, has been found alive in Lucknow on late Sunday.
Kavita, who went missing in 2021, was discovered living with a former neighbour, thanks to a Facebook update that led police to her location.
SP, Gonda, Vineet Jaiswal, said that last week we spotted an activity on Kavita’s facebook profile which she was using under a false name from a long time and we had checked several such profiles.
“We noticed activity on Kavita’s Facebook profile, which she had been using under a false name. Using surveillance, the police traced her location to Daliganj, Lucknow. Kavita had been living with Satyanarayan Gupta, a neighbour from her maternal village, since leaving her husband’s house,” he said.
Kavita is now under police protection and will be presented in court for her statement.
It all started when Kavita Devi, a resident of Dua Bazaar in Gonda, married Vinay Kumar from Semra Sheikhpura on December 17, 2017.
The couple had a stable relationship for four years. However, on May 5, 2021, Kavita mysteriously disappeared. After Vinay informed her maternal family, they filed a missing person report on May 26, 2021. Subsequently, Kavita’s family accused her husband and in-laws of dowry-related murder, filing an FIR against Vinay, his brothers, and mother.
In retaliation, Vinay also lodged a complaint accusing Kavita’s brother and relatives of kidnapping and holding her hostage. Despite investigations by the local and women's police stations, Kavita’s whereabouts remained unknown, said the Gonda SP.
After both families filed separate appeals in the High Court, the police were summoned. Under the directives of HC police intensified their search.
“I prefer to stay where I was. I don’t want to meet my family; they disturbed me,” said Kavita while talking to reporters after she was found and brought to Gonda.