Police in Varanasi have booked three men, including a father and son, for allegedly defrauding local villagers of ₹39.07 lakh under the pretext of investing in Life Insurance Corporation policies. The First Information Report was registered at Jansa police station following direct intervention from the Police Commissioner after victims alleged inaction by local authorities. Investigators stated that the suspects lured residents from several neighboring rural localities by promising unusually high returns on schemes falsely presented as LIC-linked investment products, issuing fabricated bonds and receipts in place of genuine policy documentation.
High Returns Promised on Bogus Insurance Schemes
The accused have been identified by police as Ashok Kumar Sharma alias Munna, Krishna Kumar Singh alias Mukesh, and his son Ritesh Kumar Singh alias Kariya, all hailing from Beruka village. According to the complaint, the trio targeted residents across the villages of Jalalpur, Mahammadpur, Badaura, Jhabra, and Gangapur. They allegedly claimed that the entities they represented were directly tied to LIC and would deliver significantly higher profits than conventional insurance policies. Convinced by these assurances, villagers, including Dinesh Soni, Khatai, and Ramji Patel, handed over substantial sums in both periodic installments and lump-sum deposits totaling ₹39.07 lakh.
Confrontation Follows Expired Policy Maturities
The deception surfaced after the agreed investment periods matured and the depositors began requesting their accumulated returns. Rather than releasing the funds, the accused repeatedly stalled payments with various excuses. Suspicion mounted until July 26, when villagers intercepted Ashok Kumar Sharma and demanded an immediate accounting of their investments during a village gathering. The complainants alleged that the accused informed them the investment company had vanished and refused to refund the capital, while responding with verbal abuse and threats to their lives when the investors objected to the loss of their funds.
Police Commissioner Orders Investigation into Forgeries
Faced with the loss of their savings, the victims lodged a complaint at the Jansa police station on July 28. Frustrated by an initial lack of progress, a delegation of villagers, including Ashok Kumar Patel, Raj Kumar Kannaujia, and Siyaram, escalated the matter to the Varanasi Police Commissioner. Following the Commissioner’s orders, Jansa police officially registered the FIR against the three men. The investigation is currently tracing the money trail, examining bank transactions, and scrutinizing the counterfeit bonds and company receipts provided to the victims to determine how the forged documents were produced and distributed.
Follow for daily updates on cybercrime, corporate fraud, DFIR, hacking, investigations, and digital forensics
