KANPUR, Feb. 11 -- When a 25-year-old woman in Auraiya district wanted to be out of an arranged marriage, she didn't just say no, she staged a full-blown snake transformation scene, depicting a supernatural escape by placing a five-foot-long shed skin on her bed before fleeing with her partner, leaving behind a village convinced she had turned into a serpent and a family too stunned to chase her, police said on Monday. Ajay Kumar, SHO Phapund, said the snake skin stunt was designed to throw everyone off her trail. "The girl staged this drama to mislead people. No transformation occurred, just a very determined exit," he said. The discovery of the snake skin sent the village into a frenzy. Residents swarmed the house, with some convinced the woman had transformed into a serpent, while others whispered about divine intervention. Police, however, were not charmed by the theory. The woman, identified as Reena, was opposed to a marriage her family was arranging. In what investigators describe as an elaborate ruse, she placed the shed snake skin on her bed on Sunday night and made her exit. When family members spotted the slough the next morning, panic set in faster than you can say "nagin." Police launched an inquiry and quickly uncoiled the truth: Reena had been in a relationship and had fled with her partner, using the reptilian prop to buy time and create maximum confusion. CO Dibiyapur, Manoj Gangwar, said an FIR had been registered and teams formed to trace the woman. "The claim that she turned into a snake is a rumour. We are looking for a person, not a serpent," he said. htc...