DNA matching solves woman’s murder mystery
A months-long mystery surrounding skeletal remains recovered from Uttar Pradesh’s Hathnikund Barrage has finally been solved, with DNA matching confirming that the victim was a 22-year-old Uttarakhand woman, who had gone missing last year and was allegedly murdered by a man who was “harassing” her.
The breakthrough came after forensic experts matched the skeletal remains with Riya Kashyap, a resident of the Jeevangarh area in Dehradun’s Vikasnagar, bringing closure to a case that had remained unresolved for months. According to police, a woman’s torso was recovered from the Hathnikund Barrage on October 16, 2025. However, due to the highly decomposed condition of the body, investigators were unable to establish the victim’s identity at the time.
Kashyap had been missing since September 2025. Her father, Gopal, lodged a complaint on September 7, alleging that Shahbaz, a resident of Dhakrani village, had kidnapped his daughter.
He claimed the accused had been harassing her and was responsible for her disappearance.
A case under Section 140(1) (kidnapping) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered and an investigation launched.
The police said analysis of Call Detail Records (CDR) and CCTV footage led investigators to Shahbaz, who was later arrested. During interrogation, the accused allegedly confessed to the crime and admitted that he knew Kashyap.
Shahbaz told police that he lured the woman to the Kulhal area with the intention of killing her after she refused to have physical relations with him.
He allegedly strangled her and dumped the body into the Shakti Canal.
The accused also named his friend Faizan and a minor as accomplices in the murder, police said.
Based on Shahbaz’s disclosure, police recovered Kashyap’s stole near the crime scene. Following the revelations, charges under BNS Sections 103 (murder), 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 61(1) (criminal conspiracy) were added to the case.
Subsequently, Faizan was arrested and the minor apprehended. Police also seized the motorcycle allegedly used in the crime.
Search operations were conducted in the Shakti Canal for several days. But later the police suspected that the body had drifted into the Yamuna River — a theory that was confirmed after Saharanpur police reported the recovery of a decomposed torso from Hathnikund Barrage, located near the canal’s downstream route.
Vikasnagar police reached the spot with the victim’s family, but the skeletal state of the remains made immediate identification impossible.
DNA samples collected from the remains and the victim’s parents were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory. Police said the identity was conclusively established after the laboratory report was received on May 12.
Officials said the DNA confirmation significantly strengthens the prosecution’s case and rules out any possibility of the accused claiming the benefit of doubt during the trial.
