Couple fakes children's deaths for compensation, arrested

Dehradun: A couple from Madhya Pradesh took compensation from both Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh governments after producing false documents to show that their two teenaged children had perished in the 2013 flashfloods in Kedarnath.

The couple took Rs 4 lakh from Uttarakhand government and Rs three lakh from the Madhya Pradesh government in compensation claiming that their 16-year-old son Ajay and 14-year-old daughter Mamata had died in the Kedarnath tragedy, Haridwar Police Station inspector M S Negi said on Wednesday. They had produced the death certificates of the two children to claim the compensation while they were still alive, he said.

The fraud came to light on Monday when Haridwar Police arrested Ramkripal and his wife Vidya from a slum in the city on a tip-off and they confessed to their crime. Ramkripal worked as a mason in Kedarnath when the tragedy struck in June 2013 killing thousands of people and leaving thousands missing.

According to an official estimate, around 5600 people were killed in Kedarnath flashfloods including those killed and those who went missing. The couple hails from Chattarpur in Madhya Pradesh, the official said.

Negi said Madhya Pradesh Police was informed of the fraud on Tuesday and the couple produced in a court in Haridwar which sent them on 14-day judicial remand on the same day.