A man from Bhagalpur who had been trying to convince police for over two decades that he had not murdered his wife has been vindicated after the cops on Thursday found her living with her father.

Suresh Yadav, 41, a resident of Amdiha village in Bhagalpur district around 250km east of Patna, had been put on trial in court for killing his wife for dowry and tampering with evidence and had been in jail for over four months.

Suresh's case has striking similarities with that of a 28-year-old man from Muzaffarpur, who had been in jail for two years for killing his wife for dowry while his "dead" wife had actually been living with her lover in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur, whose ordeal The Telegraph had reported in detail last month.

Suresh's wife Pratima Devi, 34, who was declared dead in May 1996, was found alive from her father's house at Panjhara village in Banka district.

She was produced before Bhagalpur additional district and sessions judge (III) Sushma Dubey, who directed the investigating officer to depose her in the court of the chief judicial magistrate to get her statement recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC.

"Imagine the mental agony of a man who had been jailed for over four months for no fault of his," an emotional Suresh told The Telegraph on Friday.

"I was looked down upon not only by my close relatives but also by my neighbours who didn't believe me and made me a pariah for the 'heinous' crime which I had never committed."

Even senior police officers didn't listen to him initially.

"I met then Bhagalpur superintendent of police (SP) M.V. Rao after being released on bail, but I failed to convince him," said Suresh, father of two minor sons and a daughter. "My petitions seeking impartial and fair investigation by an efficient and honest officer were thrown into the dustbin. Later I stopped meeting the police officers and left it to the mercy of the Almighty. This was in my destiny."

Two weeks ago, Suresh's destiny took a turn for the better when he got wind of Pratima's presence at her parents' house around 46km from the Bhagalpur district headquarters.

He secretly visited his in-laws' house and confirmed with their neighbours that Pratima was indeed living there.

On Wednesday, he met the Sonhaula police station house officer (SHO) Pawan Kumar in Bhagalpur district and informed him about the twist in the case lodged about 21 years ago. The SHO sent a police team to Panjhara on Thursday.

Initially, police sources said, Pratima tried to mislead the cops but after some time she admitted that she had been living with another man in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, who she had married and had a son and a daughter with.

"I am happy with my new family," an investigating officer quoted Pratima as saying.

The investigating officer said Pratima doesn't want to live with Suresh, who too married another woman with whom he has two children.

"Since both Suresh and Pratima got married later, we are trying to reach a compromise between the two families," the police officer said.

The court on Friday ordered the investigating officer to keep Pratima with Suresh's parents till her statement was recorded in the court.

"We have completed the legal formalities and she has been allowed to stay with her (former) in-laws," SHO Pawan said.

The SHO said that he has requested the Bhagalpur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manoj Kumar to re-open the case so that Pratima's statement can be recorded.

"The request has been made to the SSP on the directive of the court," he added.

The charge sheet against Suresh was submitted in 1998 under sections 364 (kidnapping), 302 (murder) and 301 (tampering with evidences) of the IPC.

The FIR was lodged against him on the statement of Kranti Yadav, a relative of Pratima, on May 22, 1996.

"I am happy because my reputation will finally be restored," Suresh said.