On May 1, a Chevrolet Aveo went up in flames at Eldeco Crossing in Pie Sector, Greater Noida. The person in the driver?s seat, who was charred beyond recognition, was thought to be RTI activist Chandra Mohan Sharma. But after it turned out that Sharma had faked his death to be with another woman, police are trying to identify the person whose body was found in the car.
According to police, Sharma claimed the body was of a homeless beggar whom he had met outside a mall in Greater Noida. According to police, Sharma befriended the beggar, whose health and height were similar to his. ?Sharma saw him first on April 28 and befriended him.
After he got the beggar to trust him, Sharma and his wife?s relative took the beggar away from the mall, strangled him and placed him on the driver?s seat of the car, before setting it on fire. This is what Sharma told us. But, we are yet to corroborate this version,? Preetinder Singh, SSP (Gautam Buddh Nagar), said.
The mall, which is located at the end of Noida-Greater Noida expressway at Pari Chowk, is right next to bus stops and auto-rickshaw stands. According to Singh, people who frequented the area had also informed police that a beggar, who was usually seen there, had been missing.
?Between the spot where the beggar was picked up and where the burnt car was found, there are no CCTV cameras. No one has come forward to report anything unusual that night or registered a missing person report,? Singh said.
Meanwhile, Sharma was presented at a local court in Greater Noida on Friday. Police said he has been remanded in two-days custody.
?The statement of the woman he was living with in Bangalore has also been recorded in court. We will question her along with Sharma?s co-conspirator,? Brijesh Singh, SP (Rural), said.
