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In Hapur, Delhi duo try to cremate mannequin for ₹50L insurance claim
Police say they video-called Anshul from Somani’s phone. Speaking from his ancestral home in Prayagraj, Anshul confirmed he was alive and well.
Two men from Delhi were arrested in Hapur for trying to cremate a mannequin, claiming it was the body of an 18-year-old man, police said. Their attempt was part of a plot to secure a fraudulent death certificate and claim a ₹50 lakh insurance payout.
According to police, Kamal Somani and his associate Ashish Khurana from Delhi’s Kailashpuri Colony and Jain Colony reached Hapur’s Brijghat cremation ground in a car with what they claimed was a corpse.
After purchasing wood and preparing the pyre, they placed the “body” on it.
Nitin, a municipal employee responsible for recording details of the deceased before issuing a death certificate, grew suspicious when he saw that very few people had accompanied the corpse. When he asked the men to show him the deceased’s face, they hesitated. Sensing something amiss, Nitin lifted the sheet slightly to inspect the feet and realised that the “body” was actually a mannequin. He alerted other people present at the cremation ground.
Kamal initially tried to mislead onlookers by claiming that the hospital had mistakenly given them a mannequin instead of the real body. However, their lie fell flat when a police team arrived and detained both for questioning.
Hapur circle officer Stuti Singh said the interrogation revealed a planned insurance fraud. Somani, who runs a clothing business in Delhi’s Karol Bagh, had suffered financial setbacks during the Covid-19 pandemic. Somani confessed that he had a debt of nearly ₹50 lakh, and so he devised a plan to fake a man’s death and claim his insurance money, the official said.
About a year ago, Somani obtained Aadhaar and PAN details of one Anshul whose brother had briefly worked at Somani’s shop. Using these documents, he bought an online insurance policy in Anshul’s name and regularly paid the premiums for months. Police said Somani planned to cremate a mannequin to portray that Anshul was dead, secure a cremation and then a death certificate, and finally claim the ₹50 lakh insurance amount.
Police said they video-called Anshul from Somani’s phone. Speaking from his ancestral home in Prayagraj, Anshul confirmed he was alive and well. A search of Kamal’s car also revealed parts of two other mannequins.
Garhmukteshwar police station house officer Manoj Baliyan said, “An FIR has been registered against the two Delhi residents under BNS section 318(4) (cheating and fraud) and 319(2) (cheating by personation). Both have been arrested.”
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