Alleged murder of RSS worker Himmat Patidar sparked a controversy last week as local BJP MLA claimed Congress govt was targeting people associated with party.
New Delhi: The alleged murder of a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, last week had triggered a huge controversy, with the local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA reportedly alleging that those associated with the party were being targeted under the Congress government.
But police cited autopsy results Monday to claim that the corpse believed to have been RSS worker Himmat Patidar’s was actually that of a local labourer. Police now suspect Patidar killed the labourer to fake his death, so he could claim a Rs 20 lakh life insurance payout and repay his debts.
Police said the labourer, Madan Malviya, lived a short distance from Patidar’s house and had worked on his farm.
“We initially suspected that Malviya was the murderer since he lived not too far away and was missing from his house,” Ratlam superintendent of police Gaurav Tiwari told ThePrint.
“However, the case became clearer after the autopsy report came back. Patidar hatched this elaborate scheme to claim insurance money,” he added.
A search for Patidar, Tiwari said, is underway in Madhya Pradesh.
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The murder mystery
The controversy began on 23 January, with the discovery of a corpse near a farm — the throat of the victim had been slit, and the face burnt beyond recognition. The body was dressed in the clothes Patidar was last seen wearing and his personal belongings were found on its person.
Police personnel who started the investigation into Patidar’s alleged murder are said to have stumbled upon a number of red flags from the beginning.
An eyewitness had seen him riding a motorcycle later that night, police said, and activity was noted on his phone around the same time.
The next day, police discovered that Malviya had been missing from his house since the time of the incident. Pursuing him as a suspect, they reached the farm Malviya worked at,
only to find he hadn’t reported for work. Then, police said, they discovered his shoes 50 metres from the scene of the crime, with Malviya’s family also identifying the underwear on the corpse as his.
The body was promptly sent for an autopsy, along with a blood sample from Malviya’s parents for a DNA test.
The autopsy report, police said, confirmed that the body was Malviya’s.
‘Intent’
Any murder investigation requires police to dive deep into the victim’s life for possible clues. According to police, a quick look at Patidar’s accounts showed that he was Rs 10 lakh in debt.
Then, police added, they noticed that Patidar had bought a Rs 20 lakh life insurance policy just last month.
“He wanted us to believe he was the murder victim so that his insurance claim would go through,” said Ratlam SP Tiwari. “That shows intent. A reward of Rs 10,000 has been announced for anyone who can help us find Patidar.”
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