Himachal Pradesh Police has arrested a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan for faking his own death to evade loan repayment to “start a new life”.

Amit Rana, 32, from Nurpur in Kangra district was arrested while traveling from Bengaluru to Chennai in his friend’s truck.

On June 29, 2023, Rana’s charred car was found on Chamba-Chowari road near Jot with bones inside it.

It was presumed that the car caught fire due to engine overheating and Rana was charred to death. His family even performed his last rites while expressing apprehension that it may have been a murder and not an accidental death.

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An inquiry proceeding was started under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

“We were skeptical of the death in the car. All evidence at the crime scene suggested a plot,” said Chamba superintendent of police Abhishek Yadav.

“We scanned CCTV cameras and the person who was said to be dead was spotted at Chamba bus stand,” he added.

With the family clueless, police gathered information about Rana’s friends, one of who was a truck driver in South India.

Police suspected that the so-called dead man was staying with his truck driver friend. After deep analysis of the call detail report (CDR) and intelligence gathering, a team was sent to Bengaluru.

Rana was arrested when his friend and he were on the way to Chennai. During interrogation, Rana admitted he was under financial distress due to 40-45 lakh debt he was unable to pay. He said he was addicted to online gaming. “He picked up skeletal remains from somewhere and put them in his car before setting it ablaze. Rana chose the Chamba-Jot road because it’s a secluded stretch on which few people venture out at night.

So far, police haven’t found the involvement of any other person or family members in the case.

How police nailed the culprit

Yadav said there were many reasons that made the police suspicious. The skeletal remains were not adequate. The car was burnt from all sides, which doesn’t normally happen in a fire due to overheating of the engine, while the number plate was found safe.

The movement of the person from his house at Nurpur towards Chamba was suspicious as there was long gap between the time when he started from his house and the incident.

Police then inquired from Himachal Road Transport Corporation drivers, who ply buses on the route at night. One of them recalled seeing a tall man boarding the bus around 2am somewhere near the spot from where the car was found. Police scanned footage from CCTV cameras installed between Jot to Chamba and Rana was captured in a camera at Chamba bus stand.

The police gathered all the information about the jawan, his mobile number and his friends.

Yadav said the BSF authorities had sought information from the police but no official information was given to them about the jawan being alive. “Even his family came to know that he is alive when we arrested and brought him here,” said the SP.

The SP refuted the rumors that Rana was involved in drug smuggling and said, so far, financial distress is the only reason he faked his death. He said the police have sought legal opinion and a case would be registered against Rana under relevant sections.

The skeletal remains have been sent for forensic examination to find out whether they are of human or an animal.