Global Courant 2023-04-14 20:36:14
A viral video showing a man fingerprinting a dead woman has led Indian police to investigate a suspected case of forgery of wills.
The woman in the video was identified as Kamala Devi by her relative Jitendra Sharma, who filed a new complaint with the local police in April. The woman is his mother’s aunt.
His family filed a police report in 2021, but no action was taken at the time, Indian media reported.
Mr Sharma claimed that the video was shot when Ms Devi’s brother-in-law Vajinath Kumar and his son Rajeev stopped at a law firm after the 80-year-old died.
“While bringing her body home (from the hospital), they took her thumbprints on documents and made a fake will after calling a lawyer,” Mr. Sharma said in his police report, referring to Mr. Kumar and his son.
In the video, a man can be seen gazing over a lifeless woman in the backseat of a car. Assisted by one man while another watches, the first man in a white shirt and black waistcoat presses the woman’s thumb against an ink pad to imprint a document.
The 45-second clip was circulated on social media in April, almost two years after Ms Devi’s death on May 8, 2021, Sharma told Indian media. It is unknown who recorded the video.
He said the document is the “fake will” that Ms Devi’s relatives had used to inherit a house and shop premises from her.
He added that Ms. Devi was a widow with no children.
Mr Sharma said his family’s suspicions were first raised two years ago when they learned of the fingerprint used to authenticate the will, as Ms Devi was known to use her signature.
“Our suspicion was confirmed after the video went viral on social media,” he told The Times of India.
The man in the video is suspected of being a lawyer in Agra, a city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
Agra police on Tuesday charged three men, including a lawyer, with multiple crimes, including cheating, Indian media reported. Investigations are underway.
“The case concerns a property dispute between relatives of the deceased woman. The viral video is under investigation,” said an Agra police officer, adding that the police are also trying to find the person who uploaded the video and why it was circulated almost two years after the incident.
The men in the video have been largely condemned by viewers on social media, with one denouncing the alleged forgery as the “lowest level of human behavior”. Others have called for the lawyer’s license to be revoked.
