Not A 'Naagin': UP Woman Faked 'Mythical Serpent Transformation' To Elope With Lover

Last Updated:February 12, 2026, 22:18 IST

A police investigation as well as the woman's own social media videos have now revealed how she used religious beliefs and superstitions as the basis of her plan to elope

A 19-year-old woman from Uttar Pradesh, whose parents had claimed that she had transformed into a “naagin", has now posted two social media videos confirming that she is not, after all, a mythical shape-shifting serpent.

In fact, the woman Reena from a village in Auraiya district was reportedly faking the “mythical transformation" to elope with her lover.

The case had gripped the imagination of local residents for days after she went missing, with rumours that Reena had turned into an “ichhadhari naagin". But a police investigation as well as her videos have now revealed how she used religious beliefs and superstitions as the basis of her plan to elope.

STAGE SET: SNAKESKIN, BURROW, ‘SHESHNAG’ IDOL

Last week, Reena went missing from her bedroom while her parents were met with a most bizarre scene: her clothes and jewellery neatly laid out on the bed, alongside a five-foot-long discarded snakeskin.

Reena’s parents then discovered the snake burrow in the floor and a ‘Sheshnag’ idol, which she reportedly brought back from a temple visit months ago. This further fuelled local superstitions that she had undergone a mythical transformation.

According to an NDTV report, her family members told the police that she had claimed that a serpent appeared in her dreams to lie beside her. This was followed by a visit to the Sheshnag Temple in Mainpuri district.

“After coming back from the temple, she kept saying that a snake visits her in dreams… We were worried but did not think something like this would happen," a relative was quoted in the report.

The woman’s father was quite distraught when she went missing, under the belief that she had literally turned into a snake.

“My daughter has turned into a naagin… Please help us find her," he had told the police, who remained skeptical and continued to probe the case like any other.

NDTV reported that circle officer (CO) Manoj Gangwar called the “naagin" narrative as “baseless rumours", instead initiating a formal missing persons investigation.

“There is no truth in the theory of her becoming a naagin," Gangwar said.

The theory of the police was soon supported by witness accounts: one village resident reportedly recalled seeing her wandering in the fields shortly before she disappeared. The investigation, however, took a decisive turn when call records from her mother’s phone were tracked and revealed conversations with a local man, who had also gone missing.

But it was social media that finally confirmed what happened to Reena. Uploading two videos to her husband’s Instagram account, she confirmed that she was safe and had married of her own free will.

In the videos, she said she chose to leave as her family was pressuring her into an arranged marriage. She urged the public not to harass her family, saying the discarded clothes and the snakeskin were “a deliberate attempt to distract her family and the police".

The police have also now confirmed that it was all a plan. Three teams were dispatched to locate the couple and ensure their safety.

News india Not A 'Naagin': UP Woman Faked 'Mythical Serpent Transformation' To Elope With Lover

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