A man in Latur, Maharashtra, fakes death for insurance money

The man also killed another for a ₹1 crore insurance payout; the man is now arrested.

A shocking case has made the headlines, where a man in Latur, Maharashtra, was arrested for allegedly murdering a man to fake his own death. According to reports, he did this to claim ₹1 crore in life insurance benefits.

A Latur man fakes death for a ₹1 crore life insurance payout.

According to a PTI report, the man was driven to commit the crime by his debts, which amounted to ₹57 lakhs. On Saturday, the police were alerted about a burning car in the Ausa tehsil. After reaching the scene, the police found a charred body inside, which they assumed belonged to the man named Ganesh Chavan. Superintendent of Police in Latur, AmolTambe, told reporters, “Chavan’s wife told police he had left home at around 10 pm on December 13 to give a laptop to a friend and had not returned. The body in the car was identified as his with the help of a bracelet at the site.” However, the cop added that on suspicion, police launched another probe and found out that Chavan was alive and hiding in Sindhudurg.

More on the fake death crime in Latur.

Police further added that Ganesh Chavan picked up 50-year-old GovindKishan Yadav, who had sought a lift till Ausa Fort in an inebriated condition. The police official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI, “They stopped at an eatery and then drove towards the VanavadaPati-Vanavada road. After parking the car, Yadav ate some food and soon fell asleep inside the vehicle.” Chavan then allegedly dragged the drunk man to the driver’s seat, fastened the seatbelt, placed matchsticks and plastic bags on the seat to set them on fire. He also left the petrol tank cap open to ensure the fire would catch quickly.

The cops also said that after fleeing the scene, Chavan, “walked to Tuljapur Mode, travelled to Kolhapur by a private bus, and then proceeded to Vijaydurg in Sindhudurg.” The official told PTI, “He had taken an ₹1 crore term insurance policy three years ago and was burdened with loans amounting to around ₹57 lakh. To ensure that his family received the insurance money and his debts were wiped out, he planned either to commit suicide or kill someone else to get the insurance amount.” Chavan has now been arrested and charged with murder, destruction of property and destruction of evidence, among other charges.