No ID, no name — until AI stepped in: How Agra Police cracked a chilling murder case

To help establish her identity, a photograph of the victim’s body was circulated widely by the police, even across social media platforms, to no avail.

Police officers said the identification attempt failed mainly because the victim’s eyes were closed and her face was covered with dirt.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Agra, Aditya said police then turned to AI to enhance and clarify the victim’s facial features, which proved crucial in establishing her identity.

Using the tech, police said they first reconstructed her face and edited out the mud. Her eyes were also opened digitally to give her face a more natural appearance. The edited image was then put into a special application that enhanced her features.

Once a clear image was generated, police circulated the photograph across various platforms and searched for leads. Alongside this, police also carried out on-ground verification to confirm the authenticity of the information received.

Police said the victim was finally identified as Sonali, a resident of Mahoba district. They contacted her family, who confirmed her identity.

Assistant Commissioner of Police, Agra, Devesh Singh, said during investigation, police were informed by the victim’s family that around four years ago, Sonali had left her husband and started living with a man named Sunny.

Police are treating Sunny as the prime suspect for allegedly having killed the woman and said raids are on to arrest him.

Station House Officer of Khandauli police station, Kuldeep Singh, said a post-mortem examination revealed that the victim died due to strangulation. He added that a case is being registered based on a complaint filed by the victim’s family.