The Uttar Pradesh police on Wednesday said they had solved the case of an unidentified woman’s murder whose body was found on August 11. The victim has been identified as Rani, 52, a resident of Farrukhabad district in UP.

Police said Rani was strangled to death with a scarf by her 26-year-old lover, Arun Rajput, a resident of Mainpuri. He was arrested after an investigation traced call records and social media interactions between the two. Two mobile phones were recovered from him.

According to police, Rajput and Rani met around a year and half ago through Instagram. The woman allegedly used filters to hide her age, leading Rajput to believe she was much younger. Their online conversations turned into a relationship, and the two began meeting at hotels in Farrukhabad. Police said Rani, who had four children, had also given Rajput about Rs 1.5 lakh.

Over time, the woman began pressuring him for marriage and demanding her money back, police said. “On August 10, Arun called her to Mainpuri. When the woman again pressed for marriage and repayment, the accused strangled her in a fit of rage and fled,” said city police chief Arun Kumar Singh.

The body was initially unidentified, and police circulated photographs across nearby districts. Investigators later matched the details with a missing complaint filed in Farrukhabad, confirming her identity.

During interrogation, Rajput allegedly confessed to the crime, telling police he feared Rani would approach the police or his family if he refused to marry her. “We have recovered the phones used in their communication, which contain photos and chats exchanged between them. The accused has been sent to jail,” Singh said.

Source: India Today