Kodagu flood: Couple concoct story of child's death for compensation, held

Madikeri: A couple, from Madikeri fabricated a missing story of their seven-year-old boy in order to get Rs 5 lakh compensation given to the kin of deceased, the police said.

Somashekar and Suma, who had taken shelter at a relief camp in Madikeri had gained the sympathy of others by claiming that their child Gagan Ganapathy was buried under the mud, during the landslides at Kaluru village in the taluk right in front of their eyes. They even registered a missing complaint with the police in this regards.

A search team, comprising of NDRF, SDRF and fire personnel were unable to trace the boy’s body even after a four-day search. When the couple was asked to identify the exact spot where the kid had been trapped they offered vague answers. Finding their behaviour suspicious the police quizzed them further.

Upon investigating further the police found out that the boy said to be missing was, in reality, staying at his grandmothers’ house in Thithimathi.

A case has been registered against them for misleading the police.