Four Weddings, Three Funerals and a Multi-Crore Insurance Fraud in Uttar Pradesh

The arrest of 38-year-old Vishal Singhal in Uttar Pradesh has unveiled a chilling story of greed, deception, and death. Between 2017 and 2024, three of his closest family members — his mother, father, and first wife — died under suspicious circumstances. Each death was followed by hefty insurance payouts, and each policy had only one nominee: Vishal. His September 2025 arrest in Sambhal has shed light on a suspected network of “insurance mafia” operations in the state, where murders were staged as accidents to claim insurance money.

From Tragedy to Sudden Wealth

Originally from a village in Hapur, Vishal’s family lived a modest life, with his father Mukesh running a small photo studio and Xerox shop. Neighbours recall the family struggling to make ends meet. Yet, within a few years, Vishal transformed into an inexplicably wealthy man. He purchased multiple SUVs, expensive gadgets, and even got married several times. While outsiders believed his fortunes had changed, police now allege his wealth was built on carefully orchestrated crimes.

Shreya’s Escape and the Breakthrough

The breakthrough came in February 2024 when Shreya, Vishal’s fourth wife, fled their Meerut home barefoot with her child, screaming: “He’s a demon. I can’t stay with him anymore.” Married only days earlier, Shreya later told police that Vishal confessed to her about his insurance frauds and threatened to kill her daughter if she resisted. She also alleged he was planning to take out policies in her name. Terrified, she approached an insurance company, which flagged her concerns to the local police.

By then, Sambhal Police were already investigating suspicious cases linked to an insurance fraud racket. According to Additional Superintendent of Police (South) Sambhal, Anukriti Sharma, “We had asked insurance companies for cases where policyholders had died within a year of purchasing policies, especially in accidents or due to heart attacks. That’s when we came across Vishal’s case too.”

The Deaths in His Family

The investigation revealed a disturbing pattern. In April 2024, Vishal’s father Mukesh allegedly died in a hit-and-run accident in Garhmukteshwar. But his body, examined at a Meerut hospital, had no injuries consistent with a road accident. More shockingly, Mukesh had 64 insurance policies worth nearly Rs 50 crore — all naming Vishal as the sole nominee. The car involved in the “accident” was reportedly driven by Vishal’s brother-in-law, who has since been arrested.

Earlier, in 2017, Vishal’s mother Prabha Devi died after being struck by an “unknown vehicle” in Pilkhuwa. Vishal, who was with her at the time, escaped with only minor injuries. Then in 2022, his first wife Ekta — who was differently abled — died after collapsing from an alleged cardiac arrest just a day after being discharged from hospital. Her death reportedly brought Vishal an insurance payout of Rs 80 lakh. Investigators now suspect hospital staff may have been complicit.

A Parade of Wives

After Ekta’s death, neighbours observed what they called a “parade of brides.” Vishal married young, disadvantaged women, most of whom left within days due to his abusive behaviour. None of the marriages were legally registered. His marriage to Shreya, however, turned out to be his undoing, as her escape triggered the chain of events that exposed his alleged crimes.

Neighbours recall Vishal as violent and controlling. “His family was worth more to him dead than alive. Woh kehte hai na, zinda hathi lakh ka, mara toh sava lakh ka (they say a dead elephant is worth more dead than alive),” said one neighbour.

The Insurance Mafia Angle

Police believe Vishal’s case is not isolated but linked to a broader network of the so-called “insurance mafia” in Uttar Pradesh. Earlier this year, Sambhal Police reopened multiple cases of accidental deaths, suspecting foul play. Many victims had been insured shortly before their deaths, with policies worth crores of rupees. In several cases, road accidents or sudden medical emergencies were staged.

ASP Sharma noted, “Mukesh’s case made us realise that it was not a one-off. The policies, payouts and loans — everything suggested a pattern.”

Vishal Singhal’s arrest highlights the dangerous intersection of greed, crime, and systemic loopholes in India’s insurance sector. What began as personal tragedies in one family has exposed a larger criminal enterprise. For Shreya, escaping with her child may have saved her life. For the police, her testimony could be the key to unraveling a web of fraud and staged murders that has haunted Uttar Pradesh for years.