According to authorities on Wednesday, four people have been taken into custody in the Davanagere area for allegedly murdering a fruit vendor in order to collect his life insurance payout.
According to Vijaya Kumar Santhoshi, Davanagere’s assistant superintendent of police, the victim, Duggesh (32), was frequently ill as a result of his regular drinking. He claimed that Ganesh, 24, intended to murder Duggesh in order to profit from a ₹40 lakh insurance policy he had obtained in Duggesh’s name.
He stated: “Ganesh bought an insurance policy on February 23 and paid an annual premium of ₹2.09 lakh, listing Duggesh’s mother as the nominee, assuming that Duggesh would not live long due to his health issue.” According to reports, Duggesh, who sold fruits next to a bus stop, trusted Ganesh since he was ignorant of the rule.
In order to withdraw the insurance payout, Ganesh had also gotten two blank, signed checks from Duggesh’s mother. Ganesh apparently became concerned about the policy expiring because Duggesh did not pass away and the insurance expiration was in January 2025, he added.
He added that on Sunday night, Duggesh was allegedly taken to a pub by Ganesh and his three friends, Anil (19), Shivkumar (25), and Maruti (24), where they allegedly made him drink excessively. “They then took him to a remote location and used a towel to strangle him.”
Ganesh tried to hide the fact that he had killed Duggesh by saying that he had passed out from too much alcohol. After that, he brought Duggesh to a hospital, where medical professionals verified his death but pointed out questionable facial injuries, which prompted a police investigation.
The four defendants were taken into custody on Monday and charged with murder under BNS Section 103. He stated that after their appearance in the JMFC court, they had been placed under judicial detention on remand for 14 days.
