The tragic incident took place in the Barua Sagar area of Jhansi district. According to police, Bhawna went missing on Tuesday. Her husband, Sher Singh, who runs a roadside eatery, told officers that she had left home with a small container of water, as she usually did when visiting the temple. When she failed to return, her family filed a missing person’s complaint.
CCTV footage later showed Bhawna near the local bus stand, but she could not be traced after that. On Saturday, her body was recovered from the Betwa River.
Investigations revealed that Bhawna had recently fallen victim to a cyber fraud. Hoping to earn extra income for her family, she had responded to an online advertisement from a supposed pencil company offering high-paying, work-from-home packaging jobs.
After contacting the alleged company representatives, she was asked to deposit around ₹35,000 as a registration and security fee. Bhawna reportedly borrowed the amount from relatives. However, after making the payment, the people she had been in touch with stopped responding, and she soon realized she had been cheated.
Police believe the distress over losing the money and being deceived may have pushed her into depression, leading to her suspected suicide.
“Her body was recovered from the Betwa River and handed over to the family after post-mortem,” said Station Officer Rahul Rathore of Barua Sagar Police. “Further investigation is underway.”
Bhawna, a native of Jhansi, was married in 2023 and is survived by her husband and a 14-month-old son.
Authorities have urged the public to be cautious about online job offers that demand advance payments or personal financial details, as cybercriminals increasingly target vulnerable job seekers.
Tags:
Cybercrime
