Two months after the IT firm employee was brutally killed, her husband has sought the insurance claim, but his father-in-law has asked the company not to honour it

Two months after Dell call centre employee Payal Surekha was murdered at her apartment, husband Ananth Misra has applied with her company to claim the insurance money. However taking a serious note on this, Payal's father Dindayal Misra, has requested the company not to release the amount, since they are suspecting his role.


In happier times: Surekha with Ananth.u00a0Dindayal Misra, Payal's father,
suspects that her husband may be involved in the murder. File pic

As per the formalities, the company sought a clearance from Payal's parents before releasing the amount,
for which Dindayal replied in negative.

A nominee
"I have requested the vice president and the senior HR to not release the amount at least for now, since we are also suspecting his role in the murder," Dindayal told Mid DAY. "I have told the company officials that we have already given a representation to the police with several reasons, which raise our doubts about his involvement," he added.

However the HR department refused to comment on this issue stating that they have to complete formalities, as Ananth has been mentioned as the nominee for Payal's insurance claim.

Dindayal added that this is one of the reasons why they strongly suspect his involvement. "Ananth's family members, including his parents did not come for Payal's last rites, but they are keen on getting her post mortem report, so that they can submit the same to the company at the earliest," he said.

"I'm not saying that James is innocent, but looking at the nature of the murder, more than one person involved in the crime," Dindayal said. "We don't wish to take sides and we have nothing to comment on this", T K Santosh, HR for DELL said.

Surekha was found murdered at her apartment in JP Nagar in last December. Payal was alone at home, and her husband, Ananth had gone to Cuttack on a business trip when the incident occurred. Neither Ananth, nor any of his family members were available for comment.