Used online filters to appear younger: UP woman hid 27-year age gap; killed by lover after marriage pressure

AGRA: A relationship that began on a social media platform ended tragically after a 25-year-old man from Mainpuri allegedly strangled his 52-year-old lover to death upon discovering her true age and facing pressure to marry her. The accused, a truck driver, was arrested on Monday after call records and digital evidence linked him to the woman, police said on Tuesday.

The victim, Rani Devi of Farrukhabad, was married to a farmer and had four children. She connected with the accused, Arun Rajput, about 18 months ago online. Using filters to appear younger, she concealed the 27-year age gap. Their virtual exchanges turned into secret meetings, during which Arun realised her actual age. Despite this, the affair continued, with Arun allegedly swindling over Rs 1.5 lakh from her.


Police said tensions came to a head on Aug 10, when Rani demanded that Arun either repay the money or marry her. He lured her to a secluded spot in Mainpuri, where during an argument he allegedly strangled her with her own scarf and dumped the body before fleeing. Her body was recovered the next day.

SP (city) Arun Kumar said, "During interrogation, he confessed, claiming that her demands for marriage and repayment of money, combined with the revelation of her true age, had pushed him to commit the crime. The postmortem confirmed death by strangulation. A case has been registered against him under BNS section 103 (murder)."

He added, "Since the victim's identity was initially unknown, we circulated her photograph across districts. On Aug 30, a missing-person report filed in Farrukhabad matched and her family later confirmed her identity."