Sitapur: Tiger scare turns out to be elopement drama
A woman, Prema Devi, along with her elder daughter Damini, staged a dramatic scene -- rolling on the ground, wailing, and even fainting -- to convince police and villagers that her younger daughter, Kamini, had been taken away by a tiger when they had gone out on Thursday morning
A tiger scare in Sitapur turned out to be a hoax after a family admitted their 18-year-old daughter, reported attacked and taken away by the big cat, had in fact eloped with her boyfriend. The drama unfolded in the Rathaura Purwa village under Machreta police station limits of Misrikh tehsil, where the family resides.
A woman, Prema Devi, along with her elder daughter Damini, staged a dramatic scene -- rolling on the ground, wailing, and even fainting -- to convince police and villagers that her younger daughter, Kamini, had been taken away by a tiger when they had gone out on Thursday morning.
Officials said that taking the matter seriously, police and forest officials deployed a team of 600 villagers and two drones in search of the girl. The team combed the area for over 10 hours. However, as the search led them to nowhere, police suspected foul play.
The police interrogated Prema Devi and her elder daughter, who spilled the beans, admitting that Kamini had run away with her boyfriend, Sunny, on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. Sunny was also found missing from his house since Wednesday night.
“It turned out that Kamini and Sunny had been in touch for some time, and Kamini’s family had fixed her marriage for November. Fearing social repercussions, the family made up the tiger story to avoid embarrassment,” Misrikh circle officer (CO) Alok Prasad said. A case was registered against Sunny based on Prema Devi’s complaint regarding elopement.
Misrikh Forest CO Sikander Singh said the forest department issued a warning that spreading false information would lead to action.
