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HASSAN: This is a real example murder plot that might just put a real-life whodunnit through its paces. male-female duo staged the murder of the husband’s doppelganger so they could claim the husband’s rights life insurance benefits and offset their business losses – until the long arm of the law caught up with them.
Muniswamy Gowda, a businessman from MV Extension in Hoskote, Bengaluru Rural District, and a truck driver named Devendra Nayaka from Karakichchi village, Chikkamagaluru, have been arrested on suspicion of murdering an unidentified man in Hassan, as police are on the hunt for Gowda’s wife Shilparani, an accomplice in the crime.
On August 13, Shilparani claimed that a person who died on the side of the road while changing a flat tire in Gollarahalli was her husband. She even performed his last rites.
However, the truth came to light after an investigation into the death was launched. According to the police, Gowda, who was going through a tough time in his business, had taken out several life insurance policies in his name, with his wife as the nominee. To make up for the financial setback, Gowda and his wife hatched a plan to claim the insurance benefits by faking Gowda’s death, Hassan SP Mohammad Sujeetha said.
According to the police, the person who died in the deal was a beggar, whom Gowda and Shilparani had confided in and allowed to travel in their vehicle. Gowda stopped the vehicle midway, claimed that it had a flat tire and asked the person to get down and change the tire. While he was doing so, Gowda allegedly pushed him under the wheels of the truck driven by Nayaka to make it look like a hit-and-run.
Police, who have not yet identified the victim, said the accused had tried to stage the accident three times before, but had to postpone it for various reasons. The police only unraveled the plot after they tracked down the truck driver, who had spilled the beans.