Daijiworld Media Network – Latur

Latur, Dec 15: In a chilling case of deception and murder, a bank recovery agent in Maharashtra allegedly killed a hapless hitchhiker, burnt his body in a car to fake his own death, and even let his family mourn him, before being exposed by messages he sent to his girlfriend.

The incident came to light in the early hours of Sunday when police in Ausa taluka of Latur district were alerted about a charred body found inside a completely burnt car. Preliminary inquiries led officers to the vehicle’s owner, who told police that he had lent the car to his relative, Ganesh Chavan. When Chavan could not be contacted and had not returned home, investigators initially believed that he had died in the fire.

“Based on the available facts, our initial assumption was that the person who died was Ganesh Chavan,” Latur Superintendent of Police Amol Tambe said.

However, as the probe progressed, several inconsistencies emerged. Police began examining Chavan’s personal life and discovered that he was in a relationship with a woman. During questioning, she revealed that Chavan had been messaging and chatting with her after the incident, using an alternate phone number.

“That is when we realised the man we believed to be dead was actually alive,” SP Tambe said.

Police then tracked the alternate number, which led them from Kolhapur to Vijaydurg in Sindhudurg district, where Chavan was finally traced and taken into custody.

During interrogation, Chavan allegedly confessed that he had taken a life insurance policy worth Rs 1 crore and planned to use the payout to clear his home loan. To claim the insurance money, he plotted to fake his own death.

According to the police, on Saturday Chavan offered a lift to a hitchhiker, Govind Yadav, near the Tuljapur T-junction in Ausa. Yadav was reportedly intoxicated. The two stopped at an eatery before driving towards the Vanavada Pati–Vanavada road.

After parking the car, Yadav ate food and fell asleep inside the vehicle. Chavan then allegedly dragged him into the driver’s seat, fastened the seatbelt, placed matchsticks and plastic bags on the seat, and set them on fire, an official told PTI.

To further mislead investigators and convince his family that he was dead, Chavan left his bracelet near the body, police said.

“A murder case has been registered, and further investigation is underway to ascertain whether Chavan had any accomplices,” SP Tambe said.