Man fakes death to use insurance payout for home loan, caught through chats with girlfriend

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In a shocking case from Latur in Maharashtra, a man allegedly killed a hitchhiker in a bid to fake his own death. However, he was later caught through messages that he had sent to his girlfriend.

Early on Sunday, police in Ausa Taluka were alerted about a charred body found inside a completely burnt car.

The police found out the vehicle's owner had lent the car to a relative. When they tried contacting Ganesh Chavan, his family said that his phone was switched off and he had not returned home.

"Based on all of these facts, our initial assumption was that the person who had died was Chavan," said Latur Superintendent of Police (SP) Amol Tamble.

However, on Monday, the police noticed that there were inconsistencies in the case and found out that Chavan was in a relationship with a woman.

"When we questioned the woman, we learned that, after the incident, Ganesh Chavan was messaging her and chatting with her using another phone number," Tambe said.

With Chavan proven to be alive, the authorities traced his alternate phone number, which led them to Kolhapur and subsequently to Vijaydurg in Sindhudurg district, where Chavan was apprehended.

During questioning, police uncovered that Chavan had taken out a life insurance policy worth Rs 1 crore and was allegedly planning to use the payout to clear a home loan. To achieve this, he reportedly plotted a murder to fake his own death.

According to officials, on Saturday, Chavan offered a lift to a hitchhiker, Govind Yadav, at the Tuljapur T-junction in Ausa. Yadav, who was reportedly intoxicated, fell asleep in Chavan’s car after a stop at an eatery.

"They stopped at an eatery and then drove towards the Vanavada Pati-Vanavada road. After parking the car, Yadav ate some food and soon fell asleep inside the vehicle. Chavan then dragged him into the driver's seat, fastened the seatbelt, placed matchsticks and plastic bags on the seat and set them on fire," an official told news agency PTI.

To mislead the authorities and convince his family that he was dead, Chavan reportedly left his bracelet near the victim.

"A murder case has now been registered. Further investigation will be conducted to determine if Chavan had any accomplices," said SP Tambe.