Hoskote businessman gets lookalike killed to claim insurance money, arrested

HASSAN: A businessman has been arrested after getting his lookalike killed to claim insurance by passing off the death as an accident, in Gandasi police limits in Arasikere taluk. The police are now on the lookout for the others involved in the case, including his wife.

On August 13, the body of a man was found near Gollarahosalli Gate close to Gandasi. A car and a lorry were also at the spot and the Gandasi police had seized both vehicles and sent the body to the mortuary for post-mortem examination.

While trying to establish the identity of the deceased, the police came across and Aadhaar card and driving licence based on which he was identified as Munishwamy Gowda of Hoskote. His wife was called to the police station and she identified the deceased as her husband. Later, the body was buried at Chikkakoliga village with a tomb stone bearing Munishwamy’s name. A relative of Munishwamy Gowda who is a police inspector at Sidlaghatta, had even attended the last rites.

Munishwamy Gowda, who owned a tyre store in Hoskote, had accumulated huge debts and in order to clear them, he hatched a plan to claim crores in insurance money. He and his wife managed find his lookalife and befriended him. They planned to get the lookalike killed and portray it as Munishwamy’s death, Police Superintendent Mohammed Sujeetha said.

The spot where the accident was staged.

Accordingly, on August 12, Munishwamy invited his lookalike to visit Sidlaghatta and had instructed the lorry driver to follow his car. When they neared Gollarahosalli Gate, Munishwamy claimed that a tyre was punctured and parked the car by the roadside. He then told his lookalike to help replace the wheel and signalled the lorry driver, who was parked at a distance.

When the lorry neared the car, Munishwamy tied a rope around the lookalike’s neck and threw him down on the road and the lorry ran over him. The lorry then rammed the car to make it look like an accident and Munishwamy Gowda fled the scene, the SP explained.

However, the police had noticed ligature marks on the dead man’s neck and got suspicious. When they dug deeper, it was established that the death was not due to accident, but murder, the SP said. Prior to this, the police had visited Munishwamy’s house and recorded his wife’s statement wherein she pretended that her husband had died. By then, Munishwamy had gone into hiding.

Superintendent of Police Mohammed Sujeetha briefing the media.

In less than a week, Munishwamy came to know that a person wanted in a court case, who was believed to be dead, had appeared in court. Surprised by this, Munishwamy rushed to the Sidlaghatta inspector’s house who was shocked to see Munishwamy alive.

When questioned, Munishwamy blurted out that he had staged the accident and the inspector immediately called the Gandasi police who arrived there and arrested him. However, when they reached Munishwamy’s house in Hoskote, the wife Shilpa Rani had fled, the SP said.

The police have arrested five people, including Munishwamy Gowda, in connection with the murder and are trying to establish the identity of the dead man. They are also on the lookout for Munishwamy’s wife.