UP village head stages own 'murder' to frame debtor, arrested

Hardoi (UP), Oct 2 (PTI) A village head in Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi has been arrested for allegedly staging his own "murder" in a bid to implicate a man who owed him money, officials said on Thursday.

According to police, Yatish Singh alias Kallu (37), the pradhan of Khaddipur Chainsingh village, had disappeared on September 29, leading his cousin Shobhit Kumar to lodge a complaint at Kotwali City police station.

An official said Kumar told police that Yatish had called his cousin-in-law, claiming he had been killed a few kilometres before Hardoi.

Soon after, Yatish's car was found abandoned near Chhoti Mendu on the Hardoi-Sandi road, following which a case was registered against unidentified persons, the official said.

Acting on the directions of the Superintendent of Police, teams from Kotwali City police, SOG and surveillance cell investigated the case using CCTV footage and technical evidence, and later traced Yatish alive.

During interrogation, Yatish confessed that he had lent money to one Viresh Singh alias Tillu Singh, who had failed to repay him. To implicate him in a false case, Yatish plotted his own "murder", Additional SP Nripendra Kumar said.

Further legal proceedings are underway, police added. PTI COR KIS NB NB