A year after an 'accident' death in Telangana, cops find he was murdered for insurance

Over a year after a 37-year-old man died in what appeared to be a road accident in Telangana, the police have uncovered that he was, in fact, murdered. Bhikshapathi, who hailed from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, was found dead after being hit by an SUV in Telangana’s Farooqnagar mandal in December 2021. However, after months of investigation, police have arrested four people for allegedly murdering Bhikshapathi for Rs 50 lakh in insurance money. 

The Shadnagar police arrested three of Bhikshapathi’s former colleagues — Sreekanth, Satish and Sammanna — and a constable named Mothilal in the case. The deceased, along with Satish and Sammanna, used to work for Sreekanth. According to the police, Sreekanth ran a fraudulent company, and would apply for loans using his employees’ credit cards and Aadhar cards. A few days after Bhikshapati joined the company in October 2020, Sreekanth allegedly took out a Rs 50 lakh insurance scheme in the former’s name and named himself as the nominee. 

In February 2021, Sreekanth allegedly applied for a loan in Bhikshapathi’s name using his documents, and bought himself a house in Medchal-Malkajgiri district. During this time, Sreekanth learned that Bhikshapathi didn't have any close relatives, according to police. In light of this, the four accused came up with a plan to kill him and collect the Rs 50 lakh insurance. 

“The insurance companies informed us that Bhikshapathi had a Rs 50 lakh life insurance policy and that he also insured a house,” R Jagadishwar Reddy, Shamshabad Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) said at a press meet. “The insurance companies flagged that B Sreekanth was listed as the nominee on both insurance forms, and that he was attempting to file an insurance claim,” he added. 

He also said that by gathering the victim’s call records and the active cell phones in the area at the time of Bhikshapathi’s death, the police discovered Sreekanth’s plan. "The accused has admitted to the crime, and we have been gathering evidence for the past year. The four accused planned to split the insurance claim. Sreekanth would receive Rs 30 lakh, Mothilal would receive Rs 10 lakh and the two employees would each receive 5 lakh,” the DCP said. 

"The accused made Bhikshapathi consume liquor while travelling in a car from Boduppal to Mogiligidda in Shadnagar on December 22 night. At Mogiligidda, when Bhikshapathi got down to attend nature's call, the accused hit him on the head with a hockey stick and ran over him with the four-wheeler to make it look like a road accident. They deliberately left his PAN near the body so that his name will be there in FIR for insurance purposes," the DCP said.

The accused are currently under remand and are booked under charges of murder and Section 201 (Causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) of the Indian Penal Code.