Telangana Man Fakes His Own Death To Claim Rs 6 Crore Insurance, Arrested For Murder

The police have arrested a Telangana government employee, believed dead, on charges of murder.

The accused, identified as Dharma Naik, an assistant section officer at the Telangana secretariat, was arrested from Pune on January 17, eight days after he supposedly died in a car accident.

Representational Image

Burned car, body charred beyond recognition

On January 9, a car was found completely burnt in a gorge on the outskirts of Venkatapur village of Medak district in Telangana.

Initially, the police suspected the vehicle may have slipped into the roadside gorge from the embankment with no railing and caught fire, resulting in the driver's death.

The body of the driver was charred beyond recognition, barring a portion of a limb.

A suspicious death case was registered and police took up the investigation from all angles.

Family identifies the body

Based on the car's registration number and an ID card found intact in the burned vehicle, police identified the deceased as Naik.

istock

His family also identified a birthmark on his leg and accepted the body to perform Naik's last rites.

Dead man caught on CCTV

However, during the investigation, police suspected some foul play. During the investigation, cops found CCTV visuals showing a man resembling Naik a day after he supposedly died.

Police also found that Naik's mobile phone was still active and was being used outside the state.

Cops also monitored the calls of Naik's family members and concluded that he had faked his death.

Identity of victim, unknow

Based on his tower location, Naik was traced in Pune and was arrested on Tuesday.

According to the police, Naik has been arrested on charges of murder.

The identity of the charred body found inside the car is yet to be established, but police suspect that the victim was a driver hired by Naik.

shutterstock

Murder to claim insurance

According to the Police, Naik, on leave since January 5, may have staged his death to claim insurance money.

Police said that Naik had an insurance policy of around Rs 6 crore and to claim this, he murdered a hired driver, with the help of a relative and burned his new car to make it look like he died in an accident.

The investigators also believe that Naik's family, including his wife, were aware of the conspiracy and had actively taken part in executing the fake death to claim the insurance amount.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.