A 26-year-old man in Gujarat’s Rajkot district has been booked after allegedly setting his damaged car on fire to make the incident appear accidental and claim insurance money. According to police, Deep Virdiya was travelling from Gondal to Patidad on September 4 when his car went off the road and overturned in a ditch. He escaped without injuries, but the vehicle was later found on fire at around 11 pm, several hours after the accident. The damage was initially estimated at approximately ₹7 lakh, with the fire believed to have resulted from a short circuit.
Police subsequently found evidence suggesting that petrol had been poured over the vehicle before it was ignited. Investigators said the petrol was obtained from a cement factory near Patidad. Virdiya allegedly told police that the vehicle had caught fire because of a short circuit, but investigators suspect this was an attempt to create a false basis for an insurance claim. The case highlights how insurers and investigating agencies can use forensic examination, fire-pattern analysis and investigation of the circumstances surrounding a loss to identify potentially fraudulent motor claims.
Gondal Taluka police have registered proceedings under Sections 326(F), 318(4) and 240 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, relating to the offences cited by police in the case. The incident illustrates the continuing challenge of organised or opportunistic motor-insurance fraud, particularly where genuine accident damage is subsequently manipulated to increase the apparent loss.
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