Sultanpur, Feb 11 : A 30-year-old man was arrested in Uttar Pradesh's Sultanpur for killing an elderly person and fake his own death to avoid repaying a loan of Rs 10 lakh.

He was arrested on Saturday. The accused, Vikrant Verma, killed a man and set the body ablaze to pass it off as his own.

'Verma reportedly lured a 60-year-old contractual driver of a CHC, Dwarika Nath Shukla, known for his alcoholism and impoverished circumstances, with an offer of alcohol on January 16. He, along with two of his aides, then murdered Shukla and burned his body, to eliminate any identifiable remains. He then spread the news of his suicide and fled to his girlfriend in Panipat (Haryana),' said Sultanpur SP Somen Barma.

However, when Shukla's father, Ramesh lodged a complaint of murder, police began a probe.

'It surfaced that Vikrant used to talk to somebody at odd hours and this number used to remain switched off for the remaining part of the day,' said SHO, Kotwali Dehat, Shyam Sunder.

The number was traced and it was found that it belonged to a woman who was in a relationship with Vikrant, the SHO said.

Police also learned that Vikrant had accrued debts of Rs 10 lakh and failed to repay them due to the losses in his poultry business. A police team kept a close watch on the woman's house in Panipat for several days and then arrested Vikrant as he arrived there. He said Verma was living with her and changed identity as Vikki Kumar.

'When confronted, Verma broke down and confessed. He stated that after failing in the poultry business, he went to Delhi to start an embroidery machine business. There, he met Shaktimaan Kumar and Anuj Sahu, who gave him the idea to set up this plot and escape his debts,' said the SHO.

/IANS