UP man held in Uttarakhand for faking own ‘murder’

AMROHA: Police have arrested a man from Kotdwar in Uttarakhand late on Monday evening for allegedly faking his own ‘murder’ nine years back to settle scores with his opponents.

Amroha superintendent of police Vipin Tada said, “Dharampal alias Dharmoo and his wife Shakuntala, both residents of Hasanpur, had hatched a conspiracy against opponents Madhur Pal, Makhan, Rishpal and Rajendra, all residents of Shergarh, in 2010. On November 14, Shakuntala dug out a skeleton from a graveyard and performed final rites claiming that their opponents had murdered Dharampal. She even approached the police the next day. Later, both of them escaped to Uttarakhand and were living there under fake identities.”

“All this was done by the couple to avoid arrests as Dharampal was accused of murdering his own brother and maternal uncle in 1992 and 2001 respectively. Later, his wife submitted his death certificate in the court seeking a closure to the legal proceedings,” he added.

Recently, police received a tip-off about the couple hiding in Uttarakhand and rushed a team there. Both of them were then arrested late on Monday evening. Sources said that a case was registered under sections 195 (giving false evidence), 297 (trespassing on burial places), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery), 468 (forgery for cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code.

According to police, nine cases, including two murders, are pending against Dharampal.