MP BJP leader’s son fakes death, kidnapping to avoid Rs. 1.4 crore debt

New Delhi: A BJP leader’s son in Madhya Pradesh has allegedly faked his own death to escape paying off huge debt, The Wire reported.

Vishal Soni, son of Rajgarh BJP leader Mahesh Soni, also attempted a fake kidnapping as part of his plan to avoid paying off Rs. 1.40 crore.

It all began on September 5 when police were alerted about a car sinking in the Kalisindh River.

Upon retrieving, the car was found to be belonging to Vishal Soni and it turned out to be empty.

There triggered two weeks of search with three separate teams scouring the water of 20-km stretch after Vishal’s father alleged negligence.

Eight days later officials reported no sign of Vishal in the river, making police suspicious.

The police examined Vishal’s mobile call detail records, thus finding out his location in Maharashtra.

Police apprehended Vishal in the Fardapur police station area of Sambhaji Nagar district.

When questioned, Vishal, who claimed to have owned six trucks and two public vehicles, said he was saddled with debt exceeding Rs 1.40 crore.

‘I was told that if I got a death certificate, the bank loans would be waived,’ he reportedly told police.

On September 5 at 5 am, Vishal collected money from his truck driver and drove his car to the riverbank.

Then he turned off headlights before pushing the vehicle off into the river. Afterwards he fled to Indore on his driver’s bike.

Later reading about his death in newspapers, he travelled to Shirdi and Shani Shingnapur.

Later when he realized that police had found out his location, Vishal tore his clothes and rolled in dust, trying to stage a kidnapping alongside filing a false report at Fardapur police station.

Citing that there was no provision to penalize a man faking his own death, police handed him over to his family.