Missing MP woman mistaken as a ‘Goddess’ after video of her ‘walking on water surfaces’ | India News

BHOPAL/JABALPUR: A video of an elderly woman, walking in the serene waters of the Narmada River in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, surfaced on social media, and within moments, the rumour mill was at work. People started flocking to the river bank, eager to catch a glimpse of the divine figure. And when the woman emerged from the waters, she was hailed as the form of Maa Narmada, the goddess of the river, say locals.
The video had gone viral with a caption that said “woman walking on Narmada water surface at Tilwara Ghat”, Jabalpur. The scene was like something out of a fairy tale. The crowd swelled, as more and more people came to seek the blessings of the ‘divine lady’.
Drums resounded, and a security cordon was formed around her. Even the police arrived to investigate the matter. But much to everyone’s surprise, the woman denied that she had walked on water or that she was an incarnation of any goddess.
The woman, identified as Jyoti Raghuvanshi, revealed to the police that she was a resident of Narmadapuram, who had left home 10 months ago. The police immediately contacted her family and arranged to take her back to her family in Narmadapuram.

The mystery of how she walked on water was soon revealed. She said the water level of the Narmada River is variable, and in some places, it can be very low.
The video was not taken at Tilwara Ghat, as previously claimed, but at a location where the water level was so low that the woman was simply walking on the river bed. But by then, the rumour had already spread far and wide, and the woman had become a legend in her own right, police informed.
Speaking about her experience, Jyoti Raghuvanshi said that she had embarked on a journey to circumambulate (Parikrama) the Narmada River as an act of devotion.
She walked along the banks of the river, and when the water level was low, she walked on the river bed. She did not move in deep water and swam a little when necessary. Her journey was filled with meetings with people along the way, where she offered indigenous medicine to those in need.
Police said they are taking her back to her family in Narmadapuram who had been searching for her for the last 10 months.