Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
A woman found dead by a roadside in Uttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur initially appeared to have been the victim of a road accident. Forty-eight hours later, police said they had uncovered an alleged murder-for-insurance plot orchestrated by her husband to claim Rs 44 lakh.
Police arrested Reeta’s husband, Amar Singh, and three of his associates, alleging that they killed the 32-year-old and tried to pass off her death as an accident.
advertisement
Hamirpur Additional SP Arvind Kumar said Amar and his associates allegedly killed Reeta to claim the insurance payout and use the money to settle their financial liabilities.
VICTIM’S BODY FOUND BY THE ROADSIDE
The case began on the night of July 29, when farmers returning after guarding their fields spotted a woman’s body by the roadside in Hamirpur district.
Police reached the spot, collected evidence and sent the body for a post-mortem examination. At first, the circumstances suggested that she may have been killed in a road accident.
But police did not immediately know who she was.
A bank account slip recovered during the investigation provided the first major lead, helping police identify the woman as 32-year-old Reeta.
Following a complaint by her father, Sarvesh Kumar Gupta, police registered a murder case and began investigating how she had ended up dead by the roadside.
HUSBAND REPORTS HER MISSING, THEN IDENTIFIES BODY
Even as police were trying to establish what had happened to Reeta, her husband had approached Sumerpur police station to report her missing.
Later, when news emerged that an unidentified woman’s body had been recovered, Amar also turned up to identify it.
Police now allege that both actions were part of an attempt to distance himself from his wife’s death and create the impression that he knew nothing about what had happened to her.
That version, however, began to unravel as investigators examined evidence from the scene and turned to technical surveillance.
Within 48 hours, police said what initially appeared to be an accidental death had emerged as an alleged premeditated murder.
LOVE MARRIAGE AND INSURANCE POLICY
As investigators dug deeper, attention turned to Reeta’s marriage and the couple’s financial circumstances.
Reeta had married Amar around two-and-a-half years ago. According to her family, it was her second marriage, while Amar had reportedly been married twice earlier.
After her first husband died, Reeta began working in Kanpur, where she met Amar. The two fell in love and later married.
Investigators allege that financial troubles eventually became central to a conspiracy to kill her.
According to police, questioning of the accused revealed that they owed a substantial amount of money to Pushpendra Soni alias Sahil.
Police alleged that an insurance policy was then taken out on Reeta and a plan was drawn up to kill her, make her death appear accidental and claim Rs 44 lakh in insurance money.
Investigators claimed the accused had even decided how the payout would be divided. Amar was allegedly to receive Rs 15 lakh, while the remaining amount would be shared among the others.
HOW THE ‘ACCIDENT’ WAS ALLEGEDLY STAGED
Police said Amar took Reeta to an arterial road near Paudhiya as part of the alleged plan, where his associates were waiting in a car.
Investigators allege that the car was first used to hit Reeta, causing her to fall into a roadside ditch.
The accused then allegedly pulled her out, placed her on the road and drove the car over her again, killing her.
They then fled, leaving the body at the scene in an attempt to make the killing appear to be a road accident, police said.
Amar subsequently reported his wife missing and later identified her body, actions that investigators allege were intended to deflect suspicion.
48 HOURS LATER, PLOT UNRAVELS
The investigation eventually turned towards Amar and the other accused.
Police said evidence collected from the scene, technical analysis, surveillance data and questioning of the accused exposed inconsistencies in the accident theory and helped them reconstruct the alleged conspiracy.
Police arrested Amar and three others identified as Amit Gupta alias Ram, Pushpendra Soni alias Sahil and Abhay Singh alias Golu.
The car allegedly used in the killing and an Airtel SIM card were also recovered, police said. All four accused have been produced before a court, and further legal proceedings are underway.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
