Arun Reddy ‘died’ in 2015. The proof? A burnt body. The DNA said otherwise

On Monday, the police in Karnataka’s Kolar arrested the 36-year-old in Chennai, where he had been living under the radar after allegedly staging his own death.

Mounting debt, insurance policy

On February 9, 2015, the Andersonpet police in Kolar Gold Field discovered a completely charred body along with several documents, including an Aadhaar card. As the body could not be identified, the police believed that the person was Arun based on the documents they found.

While the police registered a murder case, during the investigation, while collecting information from his friends, they found that Arun was alive. DNA tests also confirmed the body belonged to someone else. They arrested him for creating false evidence.

“On February 9, 2015, he went to a graveyard and dug up an unidentified corpse, which he then stuffed into a sack and took it on a bike to a eucalyptus grove on the Tekal-Kyasamballi main road. He doused it in petrol and burned it to make it look like a murder. Around the burnt remains of the body, he put his bike, sandals, documents, mobile phone, and SIM card, then fled the scene,” a police officer said.

When questioned about his motive, Arun told the police that he had borrowed money from several friends and, unable to repay the loans, decided to fake his own death. He also had an insurance policy in his name and planned to claim the proceeds, a police officer said.

According to the police, Arun said he drew inspiration for the elaborate deception from crime scenes depicted in films, particularly Drishyam.

A long search

The police filed a chargesheet on May 15, 2015, and the trial was set to begin. By then, however, Arun had gone into hiding after getting bail, prompting the court to issue several non-bailable warrants against him.

Meanwhile, the police established a new station in Kyasamballi, taking over the jurisdiction previously handled by Andersonpet Police Station.

“For a long time, no one followed up on the case, and Arun was never seen in the area again. He never contacted his family members, or even did they try to find him,” a police officer said.

The police said the person whose body Arun allegedly burnt had died due to natural causes. They closed the murder case investigation after they found that Arun had created false evidence to fake his own death.

While reviewing pending cases, senior officers in the district directed the Kyasamballi police to look into the matter.

“Head Constable Chandrashekar and Constable Dhan Singh, who were tracking Aadhaar details, eventually found that Arun had bought a SIM card in Chennai. We knew he was in Chennai, but when the police were looking for him, they missed him a couple of times,” a police officer said.

This time, the police traced him after he used his Aadhaar details. The phone remained at the same location throughout, leading investigators to suspect that it was his house. After gathering local intelligence and confirming that Arun was living there, the police went to the location and arrested him.

“After collecting details, we were able to track and arrest him,” the officer added.

The police said they found that Arun was married, had children, and worked as a delivery agent and did odd jobs to support his family. His wife, the police said, was unaware of his past.

They said Arun has been sent to judicial custody.

(Sara Raghav is an intern with The Indian Express)