Woman found in 10-foot-deep pit months after in-laws said she ran away

The body of a woman, who had been missing for two months, was exhumed using a JCB excavator from under a 10-foot-deep pit in front of her in-laws' house in Haryana's Faridabad on Friday morning. The in-laws allegedly killed Tanu Kumar, a native of Uttar Pradesh's Firozabad district, and buried her under the pit before telling everyone that she had run away from home.

Visuals seen by India Today TV showed a mammoth pit in the middle of the road from where Kumar's body was exhumed. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Central Usha Kundu said that a complaint was filed on the matter a week ago, and based on it, the body was recovered from the pit.

Four members of Kumar's in-laws, including her husband, father-in-law, mother-in-law and sister-in-law, have been taken into custody for questioning and will be arrested soon, the DCP added.

Tanu Kumar got married to Arun Singh in Faridabad two years ago. Her family claimed that Kumar's in-laws used to constantly harass and torture her over dowry. The ordeal extended to such a point that she spent the first year of her marriage staying at her maternal home. Her father, Hakim, alleged that she only returned to Faridabad after the intervention of a panchayat. However, the matter was far from being resolved.

Kumar's family also claimed police inaction, with Hakim saying that upon learning about his daughter running away from home, he visited her in-laws' house with his other daughter, Preeti. Hakim said they knew the in-laws were lying after spotting the pit in front of their house. Hakim alleged that despite making several visits to the local police station and apprising them of the freshly dug pit, they refused to investigate the matter.

The matter was only taken up a week before.

According to police, on April 23, Arun Singh and his father, Bhoop Singh, called for an earthmover to dig a 10-foot-deep pit in front of their house. They told neighbours that it was to allow waste water to pass. The following day, they asked a mason to fill the hole. A few days later, Bhoop Singh - Tanu Kumar's father-in-law - told neighbours and also reported to the police about his daughter-in-law missing. He also branded her as mentally challenged.

(With inputs from PTI)