Couple takes victim's body, pockets Rs 1 lakh

Sandhya Nair / TNN / Jul 18, 2006, 00:43 IST

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A Thane couple has been arrested by the Andheri govt railway police for fradulently taking away the body of a 7\11 victim.

Couple takes victim's body, pockets Rs 1 lakh

MUMBAI: A Thane couple has been arrested by the Andheri government railway police for fradulently taking away the body of a 7\11 victim whom they did not know and claiming compensation.
The couple, identified as Sagar Vyapari (30) and his wife Sangeeta, both construction labourers, went to Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle on July 12 and claimed the body of Jitendra Gandhi (30), who had died in the Jogeshwari blast.
Posing as the son and daughter-in-law of the victim, they gave his name as Sunil Thakur Vyapari, aged 50.
The couple even cremated the body at the Oshiwara crematorium and also claimed the state govenment's compensation of Rs 1 lakh. Senior inspector of Andheri railway police M D Raskar told TOI that the couple had been motivated by the compensation packages announced by the state government (Rs 1 lakh) and Western Railway (Rs 5 lakh).

Gandhi was to board the 5.25 pm Borivli train on July 11 after his visit to the income tax headquarters at Churchgate. As the family could not trace Gandhi, they lodged a complaint with the Azad Maidan police. Gandhi's photograph was also flashed on TV channels.
The couple saw the photograph and landed at the hospital, identifying Gandhi as Sunil Thakur. They had brought along photographs and documents of Thakur, but as Gandhi's body was severely damaged, they succeeded in conning the hospital authorities. Police are interrogating the couple to find out whether Thakur is dead or alive.

The couple then took possession of the body and obtained the necessary stamps on the papers from the hospital. This helped them in getting the Rs 1 lakh compensation (by cheque) from the Thane zilla parishad.
The matter came to light when Gandhi's son Mitul's attempts to trace his father failed. He even placed an advertisement in a Gujarati newspaper on July 14.
On the same day, Mitul also landed at the Andheri railway police looking for his father. There he was handed over a railway identity card, cheques, visiting cards and other articles belonging to his father, which were found at the Jogeshwari site.
As all the victims of the Jogeshwari blast were taken to Cooper Hospital, Mitul reached there to claim his father's body. However, the list of 28 dead persons registered at Cooper did not have Jitendra Gandhi's name.
Mitul then lodged a complaint with the Juhu police station. He also identified his father's body, based on photographs of dead persons taken by the Juhu police. The railway police contacted 22 families who had claimed bodies in the age group of 35 to 75.
On Monday when the police, along with Mitul, went to Manjivada Gaon in Thane (east) looking for Sunil Thakur Vyapari, they could not give details about the victim. The couple confessed to having taken away the body to make quick money.