Pinki, whose ‘body’ was discovered in Beniganj police circle, Hardoi, was learnt to be living in Adarsh Nagar, Shahjahanpur. The police finally caught up with her in the Shahjahanpur railway station on Thursday.

On Friday, she was produced before the district judge, who recorded her statement. The recoding will continue on Monday. The police, embarrassed, now say they will reinvestigate the case. SP Shahjahanpur, K Ejilear Assane, said: “Papers are being prepared to release the persons who are behind bars.”

Back in August, the case was investigated by Hardoi’s then Circle Officer AP Singh. The body was identified by Pinki’s mother Laxmi Devi. The woman had been strangulated.

Her daughter, Laxmi Devi had said, had been missing for four days. And since she had been married for a few years, her husband Dharmendra, his brother Mahesh, their parents Maikoo and Kanti and three other relatives were promptly booked under a dowry case.

Singh sent a report with all the “evidence”, including the victim’s dress, to Shahjahanpur. The then Shahjahanpur’s Circle Officer Ajay Pratap, who further investigated the matter, arrested the seven accused. The three relatives got bail later, but Dharmendra, Mahesh and their parents are still in jail.

On Thursday, Dharmendra’s cousin Rajeev came to know that Pinki was alive and lived in Adarsh Nagar. He went there and after verifying the details, called the local police station.