Two of the accused -- Kamal Somani and his associate Ashish Khurana, both residents of Jain Colony in Delhi's Uttam Nagar -- were arrested. Two of their associates managed to escape, police said.

During interrogation, Somani, a textile trader, confessed that he had a debt of Rs 50 lakh and had been depressed for months.

"To repay the amount, he devised an elaborate scheme. He obtained the Aadhaar and PAN cards of Anshul, the brother of his employee Neeraj, on the pretext of some paperwork, took out a Rs 50 lakh Tata AIA insurance policy in Anshul's name nearly a year ago, and had been paying the premiums regularly," said Circle Officer Stuti Singh.

The plan was to send Anshul out of town, pass the mannequin off as his body, cremate it to obtain an official receipt from the cremation ground, secure a death certificate, and then claim the insurance payout, police said.

Police used Somani's phone to video call Anshul, who was in Prayagraj. He told police he had no idea his death was being staged at Brijghat, they said.

Circle Officer Singh said it was a case of insurance fraud. "An investigation is underway and efforts are on to trace the absconding suspects," she said.