Hardoi police have reopened a missing person case after a woman claimed she spotted her husband in Instagram reels with another woman, years after he vanished without a trace.

Jitendra Kumar, a resident of Atamau village in Hardoi, married Sheelu from Murarnagar in 2017. The couple had a son, but soon after the child’s birth Jitendra disappeared. A police complaint was lodged in April 2018 and searches were conducted, but he could not be found.

In the years that followed, Jitendra’s relatives accused Sheelu’s family of being behind his disappearance. Sheelu moved back to her maternal home and raised her son there.

The matter took a dramatic turn when Sheelu recently came across Instagram reels showing her husband in Ludhiana with another woman. Several of these reels have gone viral on social media.

Sheelu alleged that Jitendra has remarried and is living with the woman featured in the videos. She also claimed that her in-laws were aware of his whereabouts but kept her in the dark.

“I got married in 2017 according to all rituals and customs. I have a son,” Sheelu said. “My husband went missing and his family accused my family of killing him. Now I have found him alive in Ludhiana, making reels with another woman. His family has misled me all these years.”

Assistant Superintendent of Police Nripendra Kumar confirmed that Jitendra had left home a year after marriage without informing anyone. An FIR had been filed at Sandila police station at the time.

The officer added that Sheelu has now submitted a petition at the same police station after identifying her husband through the viral videos. “An investigation is underway and appropriate legal action will be taken,” he said.

Police are verifying the videos and looking into the allegations of a second marriage.