Telangana official fakes death for insurance money, caught

Hyderabad, Jan 17 (IANS) A Telangana government official has been arrested by the police for allegedly faking his death by killing his driver to claim insurance money.

A week after a body was found in a burnt car in Medak district and it was believed to be that of Dharma, an Assistant Section Officer in Telangana state Secretariat, the case took a dramatic twist as the police found him alive.

Dharma was reportedly arrested in Goa and was being brought to Hyderabad. A Medak police officer said that the details of the case will be revealed on Wednesday.

A car was found completely burnt in a gorge on the outskirts of Venkatapur village of the district with a man's burnt body on January 9. A bottle half-filled with petrol and a bag was found near the car.

Based on the registration number of the car and identity card found in the bag, the police had identified the deceased as Dharma, 48.

Police suspected that the car may have fallen into the gorge from the embankment which had no railing. A case of suspicious death was registered and police took up investigation from all angles.

The case took a dramatic turn when during the course of investigation police tried to trace Dharma's mobile phone. Based on the mobile phone signals, the police tracked the device to Goa. A police team rushed to Goa and found Dharma alive. He was taken into custody and brought to Telangana.

Dharma allegedly killed a car driver to fake his death for insurance money. He had landed in debts due to betting and came up with the idea to claim insurance money to repay the debts. His family members had colluded with him.

He, along with his wife, had gone to his native village Venkatapur on January 5. Two days later, he returned to Hyderabad. He had later informed his sister that he along with his two friends were going to Basara town.