MUMBAI, July 18: An Indian couple falsely claimed and cremated the body of a victim of the Mumbai train blasts to collect more than 2,000 dollars in compensation, according to newspaper reports.

Sagar Thakur, 28, claimed a 60-year-old victim was his father, held a funeral and received the 100,000 rupee cheque from the state government the following day, newspapers said.

His alleged crime was uncovered when the dead man’s son realised Jitendra Gandhi’s body was not among those in any hospital following the July 11 blasts that killed 182 and injured nearly 900.

Police showed the victim’s son, Mitul Gandhi, photographs of the deceased and he recognised his father and realised his body had already been taken away.

Mitul Gandhi accompanied police to all of the 22 families who claimed bodies from the hospital and they finally focused on Thakur and his wife.

“Sagar refused to identify the body but his wife finally broke down and said they had claimed the body and cremated it.”

Thakur, who has a five-year-old son, reportedly said he needed the money to treat his wife, who had tuberculosis.

Police recovered the cheque at the couple’s at home and arrested them, according to reports.

But Gandhi told the NDTV television network that he would bail Thakur from custody within a few months so he could look after his family. —AFP