Lucknow: For seven years, Sheelu from Uttar Pradesh’s Hardoi lived with the stigma of being the wife of a man who vanished without a trace. She was accused by her in-laws of having a hand in her husband’s disappearance. She raised her young son alone at her maternal home, carrying the weight of suspicion and unanswered questions.
Now, her long silence has been broken by a startling discovery on social media. Sheelu says she recently spotted her missing husband, Jitendra Kumar, in Instagram reels made in Ludhiana. In the videos, he appears with another woman, laughing and posing. The clips have since gone viral, forcing authorities to reopen the case.
Sheelu and Jitendra married in 2017 in a traditional ceremony. A year later, soon after the birth of their son, Jitendra went missing. In April 2018, his family filed a police complaint in Sandila, but searches yielded no trace of him. Instead, suspicions turned toward Sheelu and her relatives, who were accused by Jitendra’s family of harming him.
“I got married according to all rituals. We had a child together. Then he disappeared,” Sheelu recalled. “His family filed an FIR, but I was never told. Instead, they accused my family of killing him. For years, I was left alone to defend myself and raise my son.”
She said her world turned upside down when she saw Jitendra in the reels. “Now, through these videos, I know he is alive, living in Ludhiana, making reels with another woman. He has even married her. His family always knew, but they chose to hide it from me and blame me instead.”
Assistant Superintendent of Police Nripendra Kumar confirmed that Jitendra had been reported missing a year after his marriage. “Recently, the woman approached the police with evidence...showing her husband is alive. An investigation is underway, and legal action will follow,” he added.