What looked like a solemn funeral procession turned into a chaotic spectacle after locals discovered that the "dead body" being prepared for cremation was actually a plastic mannequin. The deception came to light within minutes, prompting police to detain two men involved in the staged rituatl, while two others managed to flee the spot.
The incident unfolded on Wednesday when four men arrived at Brijghat in Uttar Pradesh in a Haryana-registered Hyundai i20, carrying what they claimed was a corpse. Witnesses noticed something off as the group bypassed traditional funeral rituals and hurried straight to the pyre, India Today reported.
Nitin, who helps with cremations, said, “The body felt light in weight.” When he asked the men to reveal the face, they fumbled and avoided showing it. On lifting the shroud, shocked onlookers found a plastic mannequin wrapped to mimic a corpse. The villagers then detained two men and alerted police, suspecting an elaborate fraud rather than mere mischief.
The report stated that the police initially heard a strange claim from the accused that a Delhi hospital mistakenly gave them a sealed dummy instead of a real body. However, contradictions in their story surfaced under questioning, causing their fabricated narrative to collapse like their plan.
Insurance Scam Behind Fake Cremation
The two arrested men, Delhi-based businessman Kamal Somani and his associate Ashish Khurana, soon confessed to orchestrating the scam to clear Somani’s Rs 50 lakh loan. Somani had taken a life insurance policy a year ago in the name of his former employee, Anshul Kumar, without his consent, using Kumar’s Aadhaar and PAN cards. The plastic dummy was meant to simulate Kumar’s death, allowing Somani to obtain a forged death certificate and claim the insurance money.
“He was performing the last rites of the dummy… He wanted to get a death certificate in the name of his employee to pay off the loan. We have registered an FIR, and a probe has been launched,” Circle Officer Stuti Singh told The Indian Express.
Anshul Kumar, contacted by police at his home in Prayagraj, said he had no knowledge of the insurance policy and was alive and well. Meanwhile, police seized the vehicle used in the attempt and filed a case. Meanwhile, the hunt continues for the two accomplices who remain on the run.