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Woman escapes arranged marriage by 'turning into a snake'

The young woman from India, played into the local folklore belief of 'naagins', women who can transform into snakes, as part of a plan to marry the right man, and she's 'content'

[Snake skin used in a hoax to escape an arranged marriage]

How far would you go to escape an unwanted wedding?

A young woman went to bizarre and extreme measures to escape an unwanted arranged marriage. The woman, named Reena, from Auraiya district in Uttar Pradesh, India staged an elaborate hoax where she pretended to transform into a snake to escape her betrothed.

In her early twenties, Reena vanished from her family home. When relatives entered her bedroom, they discovered Reenas clothes and jewellery placed neatly on the bed along with a five-foot long snakeskin - the same size as the python spotted slithering along a busy British street by parents on a school run.

Superstitious neighbours were quick to theorise what had happened to the missing woman, drawing on traditional regional folklore for an answer.

[Picture of Reena wearing red traditional clothes inside]

Reena had been seeing another man in secret

As local tradition goes, a naagin is a mythical woman who has the ability to transform into a snake, and so many villagers believed something supernatural had happened to the woman. After examining the scene, police were quick to dispel the villagers theory and reasoned that the women and staged the scene to intentionally mislead her family as part of a scheme to runaway from home.

Reena was due to enter an arranged marriage to a man she did not want to marry, according to the Police News Web Journal reports. She had been having a secret romance with a man from her village and the snakeskin ruse was a distraction so she could run away to elope with her lover.

Following her disappearance, a video surfaced showing Reena wearing traditional married clothing alongside her chosen lover and now her husband. Speaking to camera, Reena said she was content with her choices and asked to be allowed to live in peace.

[A photo of Reena and her husband]

The matter was resolved peacefully

Authorities confirmed that Reena and her husband experienced no harm and that the matter was resolved peacefully. Not the first bunch of people to think a person transformed into a snake, a husband claims his wife turns into a snake at night and tortures him.

Indian man Meraj shared his terror on his home regions Public Grievance Day. "Sir, my wife turns into a serpent at night and runs after me to bite me," he told the district magistrate.

"My wife tortures me mentally and could kill me any night while I'm asleep. The incident in Sitapur in northern India has sparked mockery but the police are taking no chances.

We have received a complaint and the matter is under investigation, they told the media. Meraj turned to officials after a local exorcists efforts failed.

His wife, Naseemun, moved back to live with her parents and has now struck back hard, claiming her husband is faking the snake-fright so he can marry again, despite Naseemun being four months pregnant.

She also claims hes not helping with food or medical expenses, and pestering her over her dowry.

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