Man in Uttarakhand kills wife for ₹60 lakh insurance money

A 29-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday from Patel Nagar area here for allegedly killing his wife last year to get ₹60 lakh insurance money, police said.

Akash Thakkar killed his 30-year-old wife Vidhi Thakkar on July 23 last year. The incident come to light after police launched a probe following the woman’s mother submitted an application to them on March 3 this year.

Police said Vidhi died under mysterious circumstances and Thakkar had cremated her body without any post-mortem. The couple got married in 2014.

Thakkar told Vidhi’s parents and neighbours that she died of breast cancer.

Later doubting Thakkar’s claim, her mother Pushpa Devi gave an application to police.

“During the investigation it was found that he conspired and killed her by poisoning and gagging her with a pillow for an insurance claim of a policy which he had taken on her name by mentioning himself as nominee,” station house officer of Patel Nagar Surya Bhushan Singh Negi said.

“During interrogation, he confessed to kill her citing a strain in their relations and financial problems,” he said, adding that five other accused, including a doctor, were also arrested.

Negi said due to the strain in relations, the couple got separated on January 20, 2017 but started living together again for their son.

“Thakkar, during interrogation, told police that he had come to know about extra-marital relations of Vidhi. He also said Vidhi, who had her second marriage with him after getting divorced from her first husband, had received ₹15 lakh then from her first husband of which she deposited ₹9 lakh in his account,” he said.

“However, after his divorce with her, she was asking for the money. It was then he planned to kill her along with his friend and one of the arrested accused Akhil.

“According to the plan, he took an insurance policy of ₹60 lakh in her name without her knowledge in which he mentioned himself as nominee. And after killing her by poisoning, he applied for the claim at the insurance company citing her death as a natural one,” said Negi.

The police officer said Thakkar later withdrew the claim application fearing a probe into Vidhi’s death.

“During the investigations, it was found that Vidhi was not suffering from any sort of cancer but was poisoned and gagged with a pillow by the accused and four others,” said Negi.