Patna: A woman allegedly buried her 19-year-old daughter’s body in a field and allegedly planted a mango sapling over the spot to conceal the death in Muzaffarpur district, police said. The alleged burial was uncovered nearly one-and-a-half months later after a video about the girl’s disappearance went viral, prompting police to trace and question the family. The body was exhumed on Wednesday.The case surfaced at Dumri village under Jajuar police station area, where police recovered the body of Palak Kumari after nearly seven hours of digging. The remains, wrapped in plastic, were found buried in a waterlogged field.Police have taken Palak’s mother and two others into custody for questioning. The mother has claimed that her daughter died by suicide following a dispute over a romantic relationship. However, police said the cause and circumstances of death would become clearer after the post-mortem report.Police said the case came to their notice after a video about Palak’s disappearance went viral around 15 days ago. When a Jajuar police team visited her house as part of the investigation, it was found locked.Officials learnt that the family had gone to Rajasthan. After receiving information that they had returned two days ago, police brought Palak’s mother and her other daughter to the police station for questioning.During questioning, the mother allegedly told police that Palak had died by suicide on Sept 1. She claimed that she then disposed of the body with the help of two other people, including a villager.According to police, the body was wrapped in plastic and buried in a pit dug in the field on the night of Sept 1. A mango sapling, allegedly brought from Bhairav Sthan, was planted over the spot the following day in an apparent attempt to avoid suspicion.The mother’s account has not been independently verified, and police are investigating the circumstances of Palak’s death as well as the roles of those allegedly involved.On Wednesday, teams from Jajuar and Katra police stations, a forensic science laboratory team and the Katra circle officer reached the spot. Waterlogging and the condition of the soil hampered excavation, but the body was eventually recovered after seven hours and sent to SKMCH, Muzaffarpur, for post-mortem.Jajuar SHO Roshan Mishra said, “The accused had misled the police and concealed the body. Those involved would be sent to jail in connection with the case, while the investigation into the death and the individual roles of the suspects continues.”Police are also examining the romantic-relationship angle cited by the mother and information about Palak’s reported closeness to a man from the village.Villagers said they had suspected foul play after Palak went missing. Villager Chandra Bhushan Chaudhary said doubts had persisted since her disappearance, while Upendra Chaudhary said the absence of a body had left the circumstances surrounding her disappearance unclear.Palak was the youngest of three sisters. Her elder sister is married, while her father is said to be mentally unwell. She worked as a teacher at a private school in Rampur under Aurai police station area.
