Two Delhi-based traders, Kamal Somani and Ashish Khurana, were arrested for allegedly attempting to cremate a mannequin instead of a human body to fraudulently claim Rs 50 lakh in insurance money, police said Friday.
The incident unfolded when four men arrived at a cremation ghat in a Haryana-registered car, claiming to have a corpse. They purchased ghee and other ritual items and placed the “body” on the pyre.
Their suspicious behaviour caught the attention of Nitin, a municipal employee, who uncovered that the “body” was a mannequin. Authorities were alerted immediately. Police recovered the car of the accused and three additional mannequins at the scene.
During interrogation, Kamal Somani, a textile trader, admitted that he was in debt by Rs 50 lakh and had planned the scheme to repay it. He had used the Aadhaar and PAN cards of Anshul, the brother of his employee Neeraj, to take out a Tata AIA insurance policy in Anshul’s name nearly a year ago and had been paying the premiums regularly.
The plan was to send Anshul out of town, cremate the mannequin as if it were him, obtain a cremation receipt, secure a death certificate, and claim the insurance payout. Police confirmed that Anshul, who was in Prayagraj at the time, had no knowledge of the plot.
Circle Officer Stuti Singh said, “This is a case of insurance fraud. Investigations are ongoing, and efforts are being made to trace the two absconding suspects.”
