Rs 2.5 Crore PMJJBY Fraud Busted in Madhya Pradesh, Fake Death Certificates Used for Insurance Claims
A big fraud worth crores of rupees has been uncovered under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) in Madhya Pradesh. According to officials, an organised criminal gang allegedly used fake death certificates to claim insurance money in several districts of the state – Gwalior, Morena, Ratlam.
First then opened Bank accounts, then applied for PMJJBY insurance. After some time, the fraudsters visited banks and informed them about the death of the account holder and applied for insurance claim.
The insurance claim was processed and credited to the bank account of nominees. Here, the fraudsters played the trick. While opening the bank account of individuals, they added their names as nominees.
Once the claims were processed, the money was credited to the accounts of the fraudsters. In this way, the PMJJBY scheme was misused on a large scale. The scheme provides insurance coverage of ₹2 lakh per individual. Therefore, if fraud was committed in 10 accounts, the fraudsters could easily earn ₹20 lakh. However, the fraud was carried out on a much larger scale involving around 250 accounts.
PMJJBY is a central government social security insurance scheme for economically weaker sections. The scheme provides life insurance coverage of ₹2 lakh for people aged between 18 and 50 years at an annual premium of ₹436. In case of the insured person’s death, the nominee receives ₹2 lakh. The scheme is offered through banks and post offices and managed by life insurance companies.
How fraud investigation started?
The Crime Investigation Department (CID) in Bhopal received intelligence report about the fraud. CID registered two FIRs and started a detailed investigation.
Special Director General (CID) Pankaj Srivastava said the fraud involved insurance claims worth nearly ₹2.5 crore. The scam reportedly took place in districts including Gwalior, Morena, and Ratlam.
According to investigators, the gang opened hundreds of suspicious bank accounts using fake names in different banks across the state. Insurance policies under PMJJBY were then purchased from several insurance companies.
The gang insured multiple members of the same family and even people with identical names and addresses through different insurers. In many cases, the same mobile number was linked to several bank accounts. Multiple email IDs controlled by the same person were also allegedly used to receive insurance claim money.
The CID said many people were enrolled in the insurance scheme without their knowledge or permission. These individuals reportedly did not even know that insurance policies had been issued in their names.
Investigators found that within a few months of purchasing the policies, the insured persons were falsely declared dead. Fake death certificates were allegedly obtained through local municipal bodies to claim insurance money.
In several cases, people who were still alive were shown as dead with the alleged involvement of municipal officials. The insurance claim amounts were then transferred into bank accounts controlled by the gang.
Police also found that money withdrawn from suspicious accounts was transferred through ATMs located 400 to 500 kilometres away, including in Sawai Madhopur and Ganganagar.
Similarly, some accounts opened in Ratlam saw withdrawals from ATMs in Gwalior and Morena. Many of these accounts have now been frozen by authorities.
Investigators also discovered that several nominees used common mobile numbers and email IDs. In some cases, insurance claims were filed by showing the deaths of two or three members of the same family within a very short period. Officials said that in nearly all cases, the cause of death was mentioned as “natural.”
