Man booked for killing wife for Rs 85 lakh insurance sum

Vadodara, July 6 (UNI) The Vadodara CID (crime) has registered a fresh criminal offence against a 35-year-old businessman from Panchmahals for allegedly killing his wife and two others in order to claim his wife's life insurance policies worth Rs 85 lakh.

The accused, Bipin Chandra Patel, a resident of Lunavada in Panchmahals district, has been absconding after a local court recently rejected his anticipatory bail application, CID Deputy S Superintendent R B Chauhan told UNI today.

Patel was earlier acquitted by a local court in connection with a three-year-old motor vehicle accident case, in which his wife Jashoda, along with his friend Motilal Jain and his wife Sharmistha, was killed when their car plunged into the Narmada canal from a 30 ft high bridge near Kandiwala in Waghodia taluka.

Patel, who was driving the car when it fell into the canal on January 2, 2003, had, however, managed to escape. He was then booked for negligent driving that caused the death of the three, including his wife. For want of evidence, the court ordered his acquittal.

The needle of suspicion, however, turned towards him when he approached LIC and a couple of other private insurance companies for realisation of his wife's death benefits amounting to Rs 85 lakhs.

As the insurance companies discovered that all the policies were purchased by the accused barely three months before his wife's death, the matter went to Godhra consumer court, which recently forwarded it the Vadodara CID for a probe into the allegations of conspiracy against the businessman.

Mr Chauhan claimed that they had got ample evidence against Patel, who reportedly visited the accident spot along with one of his friends, Dharmesh Soni, a date before for smooth execution of his plan.

The accused, who had also borrowed a huge amount from his friend Motilal, took the three along with him on the pretext of buying sarees from Surat and drove the car off the bridge into the canal in Waghodia taluka, on their way to the textile city.

UNI SS GK RR BD1609