BHOPAL: A month after a viral video showed 45-year-old part-time teacher and farmer Indra Kumar Tiwari appealing for a bride from the stage of a religious event in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur district, he has mysteriously gone missing.
Tiwari, a resident of Padwar (Khitola) village in Jabalpur, was last seen on June 2. Before leaving, he told neighbours he was travelling to Gorakhpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh and would return by June 6. When he failed to return, concerned villagers reported his disappearance, prompting the Majhouli Police Station to file a missing person’s report on June 8.
Police have since been trying to trace the middle-aged man, who has no close family members, complicating the investigation.
Tiwari’s public plea for marriage had gained attention after he spoke on stage during a religious gathering led by young preacher Swami Aniruddhacharya. According to locals, Tiwari had often expressed a desire to find a suitable match, possibly putting him on the radar of fraudsters running marriage scams.
“Before leaving for Gorakhpur, someone from there had met him. It is suspected he may have been lured with the promise of marriage,” police sources involved in the probe said.
Villagers claim that after his video went viral, unknown individuals contacted Tiwari, promising to arrange his marriage to a woman named Khushi. They reportedly asked him to bring jewellery and cash with him to Gorakhpur.
Superintendent of Police Sampat Upadhyaya confirmed that Tiwari had indeed reached Gorakhpur, but disappeared shortly thereafter. “We’re actively investigating his disappearance. The lack of close relatives has made the case challenging, but we’re working on vital clues. The involvement of ‘Looteri Dulhan’ (runaway bride) gangs is a possibility we are not ruling out,” he said.
The police continue to rely heavily on local villagers for leads, as they press on with efforts to solve the mystery of Tiwari’s disappearance.