Online relationship turns tragic; main accused absconding
February 14, 2026: The decomposed body of a 33-year-old woman was recovered from a septic tank in Bhopal’s Nishatpura locality on Thursday evening, in a case police describe as a chilling fallout of an online relationship. The victim, Ashrafi alias Siya, originally from Gondia district in Maharashtra, had moved to Bhopal three months ago after developing a relationship with a man she met on Instagram. Investigators said she believed the relationship would culminate in marriage, but later discovered that the man, identified as Sameer, was already married with two children.
According to police, tensions escalated after Siya allegedly confronted Sameer and pressed him to marry her, with neighbours reporting frequent arguments involving his wife. Authorities suspect that during a heated altercation earlier this week, Sameer strangled Siya. To allegedly conceal the crime, he is believed to have sought help from his family members, who placed the body inside an iron box and dumped it in a septic tank on a vacant plot near their residence. The crime came to light when children playing nearby noticed a foul smell and alerted locals, who informed the police.
Police identified the victim through a distinctive tattoo on her hand. Nishatpura police said preliminary findings point to strangulation and estimate the body to be three to four days old. Sameer is currently absconding, while his mother, brother and sister have been arrested for allegedly assisting in disposing of the body. His wife is also being questioned as investigations continue, with officials awaiting forensic and post-mortem reports to establish the exact sequence of events.