Woman found dead in UP turns out to be ‘Turkmenistan citizen’

MEERUT: A shocking twist has emerged in the case of a 40-year-old woman whose partially burnt body was found in a field in Meerut on Feb 21. What initially appeared to be a "solved murder case" has now raised questions about the victim's real identity.Five days after the body was found, police held a press conference in Meerut claiming they had "cracked" the case and arrested four accused.Police initially identified the victim as Archita Arora, a woman stated to be from "Ambala who later moved to Delhi". She was allegedly murdered following a dispute at a Meerut hotel.However, as the investigation progressed, the case took an unexpected turn. A woman from Lebap Velayat area of Turkmenistan, identified as Gulnara Sunatovna Nazhmudinova, 59, contacted police via a video call and claimed that the victim was actually her daughter, Muhabbat Sunatovna Nazhmudinova.SP (rural) Abhijeet Kumar told TOI on Tuesday: "We made the earlier announcement based on the document found near the body and statements of the accused, who killed her. But the investigation continued. Later, we found that the Delhi address on Aadhaar was fake and further inquiry revealed a flesh trade network involving foreigners."A police officer, privy to the case, added, "Muhabbat made her last phone call to an Uzbek woman, Aziza Fayzullaevna Kilicheva, 49. It was she who identified Muhabbat. We shared a photo of the body with Aziza, which she forwarded to the victim's mother in Turkmenistan. The mother then identified the body of Muhabbat based on the latter's clothes and earrings."Interestingly, this claim was supported by another document found during the probe — a Turkmenistan passport that had expired in 2019 and issued to Muhabbat in 2009. Police now suspect that the woman may have been overstaying in India and had procured an Aadhaar card with a fake identity.Following the discovery of the body on Feb 21, which had been disfigured with acid to prevent identification, a specialised police team analysed over 500 CCTV camera feeds and conducted several raids. This led to the arrest of three men along with a hotel owner.Investigators had said at that time that a heated row over financial transactions at the hotel had taken place between the victim and the operator, Chanchal Kumar. The accused allegedly conspired to kill her after she threatened them with what police described as "a false rape case".In the early hours of Feb 26, police apprehended Chanchal along with Gurmukh, Sandeep and Vivek. Cops also seized a car, a blanket allegedly used to suffocate the victim, and an empty acid bottle. An FIR was subsequently registered under BNS sections 103 (1) (murder) and 238 (destruction of evidence).The body was cremated after a few days. TOI accessed a letter issued by the state notary office, Turkmenistan, in which the mother has authorised Aziza "to take custody of the body (cremated remains) of Muhabbat and make necessary arrangements to return it to her country".