Surat: A 39-year-old transporter, believed to have died in a horrific road accident near Sachin with his face crushed beyond recognition, was shockingly found at a friend’s house in Pune—just eight days after his family performed his last rites.What was registered as an accidental death on July 13 turned out to be a chilling plot by the debt-ridden transporter to fake his own death for insurance money. The accused, Shivkumar Mishra, allegedly crushed Deviprasad Pal, a trusted friend for 10 years, under the truck and dressed up the corpse with his clothes to stage his own death and get a Rs two lakh claim.Mishra’s partner in crime was none other than his wife, Meenadevi, whose inability to convincingly play the grief-stricken widow ultimately led police to uncover the conspiracy.According to case details, the police found a badly crushed body on the Saniya-Khambhasala road in the Sachin police station area on July 13, and a complaint of accidental death was lodged the next day. The mobile found near the body, deliberately placed by Mishra, led the police to contact his wife for recording her statement and other formalities. Mishra instructed her to identify the body as his, perform the last rites, and act devastated in front of the police.Mishra was apprehended alive during a raid in Pune after police learned that he killed his 10-year-old friend, Deviprasad Pal (45), to obtain an insurance claim. Mishra crushed Pal’s body to prevent identification and instructed his wife to accept the body as his own and perform the last rites.Police commissioner Anupam Singh Gahlaut told TOI: “While recording her statement, cops got suspicious as she didn’t look saddened by her husband’s death. The doubts strengthened when she repeatedly inquired with police about the maturity date of her husband’s insurance policy.”Gahlaut said the investigations were intensified by scanning a large number of CCTV footage and call detail records, which led the cops to Pune, where Mishra was living with a friend, Monu Gautam. The GPS tracking history of the truck also corroborated their findings.“Mishra told us that the loan taken for a new truck would also have been waived off if he was presumed dead,” he added. The couple planned to leave Surat and settle in another city after obtaining the Rs two lakh insurance. As per the plot, Mishra went to Pal’s house in Vadod village, some 15km from Sachin. He took Pal to a petrol pump on Kadodara-Bardoli Road in his truck and made him drink liquor. When Pal got intoxicated, Mishra took him to a deserted spot on his bike. He made him sleep on the road and crushed his face under the wheels of his truck parked at the petrol pump.Mishra removed one of the SIM cards from his mobile and left the device near Pal’s body.Mishra, Meenadevi, and Gautam were booked for murder and criminal conspiracy.Pal was a soft target as he lived alonePolice commissioner Anupam Singh Gahlaut revealed that on July 10, Mishra watched an episode of the TV serial ‘Sasural Simar Ka’, which featured a character being killed to claim insurance money. Inspired by the plot, he hatched a similar plan. Mishra had known Deviprasad Pal for over a decade, and both hailed from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. Pal was living alone in Surat while his family remained in UP—making him a soft target. Mishra assumed that if Pal went missing, no one would immediately notice or raise an alarm.DNA test to confirm victim’s identityTo establish that the deceased was indeed Pal, the Surat police will conduct DNA testing by matching the remains with samples from his family members. “After the deceased was identified as Pal, we sent bloodstains and tissue samples from the accident site for forensic analysis,” said Sachin police inspector PN Vaghela. “His family is arriving from Bareilly soon for the DNA match.”Second truck proved to be a burdenPolice said Mishra was managing well with one truck that supported his family. However, in a bid to increase income, he purchased a second truck on loan. When business slowed, he struggled to meet repayments and spiraled into debt—pushing him toward the desperate plot to fake his death for insurance.
