Ahmedabad: A 39-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh has been arrested from Ahmedabad, where he had been residing by assuming a new identity for the last 17 years after allegedly killing a beggar with the help of his family members in order to fake his own death and claim ₹ 80 lakh in insurance money, said police on Wednesday.

Acting on a specific-tip off, crime branch officials caught the man, Anilsingh Vijaypalsingh Chaudhary, a native of Bhatta-Parsaul village in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, from Ahmedabad city's Nikol area, said a police release.

On July 31, 2006, the Rakabganj police station in Agra had lodged an accidental death report after a car driver, then identified as Anilsingh Chaudhary by his father, died of burn injuries when his vehicle got burnt in a fire following an accident, said the release.

Recently, the Ahmedabad crime branch learnt from its sources that Anilsingh Chaudhary is still alive and living in the Nikol area under a new name, Rajkumar Chaudhry, it said.

After the arrest, Anilsingh Chaudhary admitted he and his father had hatched a plan to usurp accident insurance money by staging his death. As per the plan, Anilsingh Chaudhary took an accidental death insurance policy in 2004 and then purchased a car, said the police.

Later, Anilsingh Chaudhary, his father and brothers lured a beggar, who begged for alms in trains, with an offer of food. They took the beggar to a hotel near Agra and served him food laced with sedatives, said the release.

The accused then dumped the unconscious beggar in their car and deliberately rammed the vehicle against an electricity pole to portray it like an accident. They subsequently placed the beggar on the driver's seat and set the car ablaze to show the vehicle caught fire due to the accident, said the police.

Anilsingh Chaudhary's father Vijaypalsingh identified the body as that of his son and cremated it in his native village in Gautam Buddha Nagar district. As per the plan, Vijaypalsingh Chaudhary claimed ₹ 80 lakh in accidental death insurance of his son and distributed the sum among family members, said the police.

After collecting his share, Anilsingh Chaudhary came to Ahmedabad in 2006 and never went back to his native village in Uttar Pradesh, said the release.

He changed his name to Rajkumar Chaudhry and obtained a driving licence as well as an Aadhaar card by that name. He purchased an auto-rickshaw and then a car on loan to earn his livelihood, said the release.

To avoid getting caught, Anilsingh Chaudhary neither went back to his native village nor called any of his family members on phone after coming to Ahmedabad 17 years ago, said the release.

He will be handed over to the Uttar Pradesh police for further action, it added.