At first, the plan appeared successful, with police assuming that the recovery agent from Latur, Maharashtra, had died.
Police in Maharashtra’s Latur district uncovered a shocking plot after a man tried to fake his own death by killing a stranger who had asked him for a lift. The truth came out after investigators traced messages he had sent to his girlfriend, officials said on Monday. The case began early Sunday morning when police in Ausa taluka received information about a completely burnt car with a charred body inside it. At first, it appeared to be a tragic accident.
The car was later linked to its owner, who told police that he had given the vehicle to his relative, Ganesh Chavan. Chavan worked as a recovery agent for a bank. When police tried to reach Chavan, they were told that he had not returned home and his mobile phone was switched off. Based on the situation and early evidence, police believed that the burnt body was Ganesh Chavan himself.
“We initially thought the dead person was Ganesh Chavan,” said Latur Superintendent of Police Amol Tambe. However, as the investigation continued, police noticed several things that did not add up. This made them look deeper into the case.
On Monday, police discovered that Chavan had been in contact with a woman even after the incident, using a different phone number. When the woman was questioned, she confirmed that Chavan was alive and had been messaging her from another number. “This made it clear that Ganesh Chavan was alive and hiding,” SP Tambe said.
Police then tracked the phone number, which led them from Kolhapur to Vijaydurg in Sindhudurg district. Chavan was finally found there and taken into custody.
Planned the crime to get Rs. 1 crore insurance money
During questioning, Ganesh Chavan reportedly told the police that he had taken a life insurance policy worth Rs. 1 crore and wanted to use that money to clear his home loan. Police said he carefully planned the crime. His idea was to kill another person and make it look like he himself had died, so that his family could claim the insurance money.
According to officials, on Saturday, Chavan picked up a man named Govind Yadav who was asking for a lift at the Tuljapur T-junction in Ausa. Police said Yadav was drunk at the time.
The two stopped at a roadside food stall and then drove towards the Vanavada Pati–Vanavada road. After parking the car, Yadav ate the food and fell asleep inside the vehicle.
Police said Chavan then shifted Yadav to the driver’s seat, put the seatbelt on him, placed matchsticks and plastic bags on the seat, and set them on fire. Yadav died in the blaze.
To confuse the police and make it seem like he was the one who had died, Chavan left his bracelet near the body, officials said.
A murder case has now been registered against Chavan. Police are continuing their investigation to find out whether he planned and carried out the crime alone or if anyone else helped him, Latur SP Amol Tambe said.
