Police in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah district have registered a case against seven people after an insurance company alleged that a life policy was issued in the name of a woman who had already died, followed by a ₹10.78 lakh death claim.
The case was registered at Jalesar police station after Bandhan Life Insurance conducted an internal inquiry into the policy issued in the name of Anita Devi, a resident of the Bade Miyan Darwaza Road area.
According to the complaint, the policy was issued on October 22, 2024 with a sum assured of ₹10,78,245. The proposal allegedly presented the woman as alive and healthy at that time.
Documents later obtained by the insurer, however, indicated that Anita Devi may have died on September 20, 2024 — around 32 days before the policy was issued.
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Insurer says death date was changed during claim verification
The discrepancy reportedly surfaced only after the insurance company had already paid the claim.
After receiving the death claim, the insurer appointed a private investigation agency to verify the circumstances surrounding the reported death.
That agency submitted its report on January 30, 2025. According to the insurer’s complaint, the report stated that Anita Devi had died at home because of illness on November 30, 2024.
Based on that account, the company approved the claim and paid ₹10,78,245 to the nominee.
The case changed when the insurer later received additional documents, including a newspaper clipping, indicating that the woman had actually died on September 20.
If verified by police, that would mean the policy itself was issued after the insured person’s death.
The company then carried out a fresh inquiry and approached police.
Illness and treatment history also under scrutiny
The insurer has also alleged that important medical information was concealed during the proposal process.
Its inquiry reportedly found that Anita Devi had suffered from severe menstrual bleeding for around three to four months before her death and had received treatment at the Jalesar Community Health Centre and a private nursing home.
The insurance proposal, however, allegedly did not disclose any serious illness, previous treatment, hospitalisation or regular medication.
Police will now have to determine whether those details were deliberately suppressed and, more importantly, who submitted the proposal and supporting documents after the alleged date of death.
The insurer has sought scrutiny of the proposer, nominee, agent or intermediary and those involved in policy issuance and document verification.
No accused has been publicly named in the reports available so far.
Police to examine death records, KYC and bank trail
Investigators are expected to compare the death certificate, municipal or local-body records, hospital files, insurance proposal, KYC documents and bank transactions.
Call records and electronic evidence may also help establish who communicated with the insurer, who arranged the documentation and where the claim money ultimately went.
Jalesar Circle Officer Gyanendra Pratap Singh confirmed that an FIR had been registered on the insurer’s complaint and said further action would depend on what emerges during the investigation.
The case bears similarities to other insurance fraud investigations in which allegedly fabricated death records were used to obtain payouts.
In Prayagraj earlier this year, police registered an FIR over an alleged ₹30 lakh insurance fraud in which a nominee was accused of submitting forged documents, including a fake death certificate, FIR copies and post-mortem papers. The alleged fraud surfaced when the insurer re-verified the documents.
A separate Gujarat case exposed another alleged pattern. Police said accused persons had represented a cancer death as a road accident and used allegedly fabricated police and medical records to secure insurance money.
The Jalesar case will now turn on documentary evidence. Investigators must establish whether the woman had indeed died before the policy date, whether records were deliberately manipulated and whether multiple people acted together to obtain the payout.
What this means for you: Insurance companies verify claims against medical, municipal and financial records, even after money has been paid. Nominees and policyholders should never submit altered medical or death documents, as discrepancies can trigger both recovery proceedings and criminal investigation.
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