Three held for burning dead man’s finger, toe to fake insurance claim

Bhilwara: Police in Bhilwara have arrested three men for allegedly burning a dead man's finger and toe with matchsticks as part of an attempted insurance fraud, officials said Sunday. Bhilwara SP Dharmendra Singh said the case was registered on a complaint by Chamba Ben in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, who alleged her 36-year-old son, Deepak, fell seriously ill and was admitted to Ahmedabad's GCS Medical College on May 7.According to the complaint, four men — Vishwas Suraj, Rakesh Sansi, Bhikha Bhai and Dalu Gadri — were allegedly friends of Deepak and later plotted to use his death to raise a fraudulent insurance claim. Police said the group had allegedly tied up with a doctor in Bhilwara who would help prepare a postmortem report portraying the death as accidental to support the claim. Chamba Ben alleged Vishwas persuaded the family to shift Deepak to a private hospital in Rajasthan and arranged a car to Bhilwara. She said they were taken to Dalu Gadri's house on Maloula Road, where Deepak died while she and her grandson were in the room. She alleged that after the men returned, she, her grandson and the driver were sent out, and Vishwas and Rakesh remained inside and burned Deepak's right-hand finger and left-foot toe with a matchstick to create injuries consistent with an accident. Police said the plan collapsed when the group reached Mandal Hospital in Bhilwara district and found the doctor they were relying on was not on duty. Hospital staff alerted police after Deepak was brought in and declared dead, officials said. Police arrested Vishwas Suraj (34), Bhikha Bhai (30) and Dalu Gadri (36). Rakesh Sansi is absconding, police said. A case has been registered at Gandhinagar police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and investigators are examining whether similar frauds were attempted earlier. tnn