Bhopal. A suspected organised insurance fraud network has been uncovered in Madhya Pradesh, where fake death certificates and forged documents were allegedly used to declare living people dead under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana. Preliminary findings suggest that the racket, spread across multiple districts, siphoned off more than ₹2.5 crore through fraudulent insurance claims.
Fake Death Records Used to Claim Insurance Payouts
According to sources, the syndicate allegedly exploited the PMJJBY scheme, which provides life insurance coverage at an annual premium of ₹436 and a ₹2 lakh payout in case of death. Investigators found that policies were issued in the names of several individuals who were reportedly unaware that they had been enrolled.
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Within a short period, some of these individuals were shown as deceased in official records. Fake death certificates were then allegedly prepared and submitted to insurance companies to claim payouts.
Bank Accounts and Mobile Numbers Under Scanner
Investigations revealed that hundreds of suspicious bank accounts were opened across Gwalior, Morena, Ratlam and nearby regions using forged identities and fabricated documents. Multiple policies were allegedly purchased through different insurance companies, sometimes in overlapping patterns or under similar identities.
A key red flag was the repeated use of a single mobile number and email ID across several bank accounts and insurance claims. Authorities believe this indicates a centralised operation rather than isolated instances of fraud.
Funds Withdrawn Through Layered Transactions
The financial trail suggests that once insurance claim amounts were credited, the money was quickly withdrawn through ATMs or moved into multiple layered accounts. In some cases, withdrawals were made from locations 400 to 500 km away from the districts where accounts had been opened, making tracking difficult.
Authorities suspect the involvement of local-level facilitators connected to documentation and certification processes. Several suspicious accounts have been frozen, and a detailed financial and digital audit has begun.
Officials are analysing banking records, mobile data and document trails to identify additional participants and determine the full scale of the network. Banks and insurance companies have also been advised to strengthen KYC verification and identity validation systems to prevent similar frauds.
