Telangana govt official held for 'faking' his death

Hyderabad: A Telangana government official was taken into custody in Medak district on Tuesday for allegedly faking his death after a man was suspiciously found dead in a burnt car over a week ago, police said. The official, who was initially believed to be the deceased person, has now emerged as the prime suspect in the death of the man, whose charred body was found inside the burnt car on January 9 and was being questioned by the police.

The car was found completely burnt in a gorge on the outskirts of Venkatapur village of the district with a man's charred body.

Based on the ID card found in a bag, the deceased was identified as a 45-year-old man, working as an Assistant Section Officer in Telangana State Secretariat at Hyderabad.

A case of suspicious death was registered and police took up investigations from all angles.

During the course of investigation, it was found that the employee is alive and that he "faked" his death, a senior police official told PTI over phone from Medak district.

"He is in our custody and interrogation is going on," the official said and declined to comment when asked if he did it to claim insurance amount.

"Investigation is under progress and we will share details soon," the official added.