Man sets friend afire, fakes death to claim insurance

CHENNAI: He thought he was the perfect target – almost his age and similar physique, a dead father, a sick mother, an elder brother he didn’t get along with, and unmarried. But, he did not factor in the doggedness of an elder brother who persistently followed up with the police about his brother going ‘missing’ despite a strained relationship.

J Suresh (38), a gym trainer in Chennai, rekindled his friendship with Dilli Babu (39) of Ernavoor after 10 years, only to murder him and pass it off as his death, so that his family could claim a life insurance amount of Rs 1 crore he had availed in his name.

Suresh’s morbid plan eventually amounted to nothing as the insurance claim did not go through – the death was suspected to be a suicide. While the murder happened three months ago, in September, 3 people including Suresh, were arrested on Monday by the Chengalpattu police. The deceased is a painter and casual labourer, police said.

It was the dogged persistence of Babu’s elder brother, Pazhani, who knocked on the doors of the local police repeatedly which cracked open the case, according to police sources.

Babu had left home on September 15 and never returned, after which his family filed a missing complaint with Ennore police. Since there was no positive response, the family moved the Madras High Court with a habeas corpus petition (HCP).

“Our directive was to find Babu. But, during the course of investigation, we got some information after which we alerted the Chengalpattu police about a possible murder angle,” an officer with Ennore police told DT Next.

Three months ago, in Chengalpattu, Orathy police had registered a case under Section 174 Cr PC (suspicious death) on September 16 based on a complaint from Suresh’s elder sister, Mariya Jayasri of Ayanavaram. In the FIR, Maria stated that her brother was staying at a thatched roof hut in their plot in Allanur village for the last three months and that there was a fire accident due to a short circuit.

“The dead person is my brother. I have no suspicions in his death,” the FIR quoted Maria.

It was Suresh’s plan all along to stay in the hut for a considerable time so that when a burnt body is recovered from there, the villagers and family would suspect it to be him. He had initially considered using the body of a homeless man or a destitute, but later decided on Babu.

In the first week of September, Suresh rekindled his friendship with Babu, visited his home and spent time there. Two of his accomplices too were with him. Babu’s aged mother, Leelavathy (70), was told that they were taking him for a job outside the city and the group left Ernavoor on September 15. It was the last that Babu’s family saw of him.

After an insipid response to the missing complaint, his family’s final resort was the HCP in High Court. This time, the Ennore police questioned Pazhani again, who said that his brother was last seen going out with Suresh, an old friend. When they went to check on Suresh, they learnt that he was ‘dead’.

Babu’s brother had last received a call from his brother from a different number, which he shared with police. Using this lead, police teams travelled to Arakkonam, where, to their surprise, they found Suresh alive.

While initially claiming innocence, Suresh finally spilled the beans about his grand plans, for which he had two accomplices, Hari Krishnan (32) of Vellore, a childhood friend and Keerthi Rajan (30), who hails from a village near the crime scene where they murdered Babu.

“He had promised them Rs 20 lakh each,” said a police officer. In the early hours of September 16, after a long drinking session, the trio beat Babu to death, poured petrol over him and set him afire. They then set the hut on fire and left the scene.

In the last three months, Suresh moved from place to place and even spoke to a woman whom he had used to buy SIM cards to keep in touch with his accomplices and Babu.

“The nearest village is half a kilometre away. When locals saw a charred body early in the day, they assumed it was Suresh. We’re investigating if Suresh’s family was part of the plan,” said a senior cop with Chengalpattu police.

On Monday, Suresh and his associates were produced before a magistrate and remanded to judicial custody. Police exhumed Babu’s body in the presence of revenue authorities and sent it for forensic analysis.