BHOPAL: An organised criminal syndicate has reportedly committed fraud worth crores of rupees under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) by forging death certificates of individuals across multiple districts in Madhya Pradesh.
The PMJJBY is a central social security scheme that provides insurance coverage to individuals from economically weaker sections of society. It offers insurance cover to beneficiaries aged 18–50 years in the event of death due to any cause.
Under the scheme, the insured person is covered for Rs 2 lakh for an annual premium of Rs 436. Upon the death of the insured, a sum of Rs 2 lakh is paid to the nominee named in the insurance policy. The scheme is offered through banks and post offices and is managed by life insurance companies.
Based on detailed intelligence inputs, the Crime Investigation Department (CID) at the state police headquarters in Bhopal has registered two FIRs, and a detailed probe is under way.
According to Special Director General (CID) Pankaj Srivastava, “We received detailed intelligence inputs indicating that an organised criminal gang had committed fraud involving insurance policies worth approximately Rs 2.5 crore under the PMJJBY scheme across Gwalior, Morena, Ratlam, and other locations within the state by using forged death certificates.”
The syndicate allegedly opened hundreds of suspicious bank accounts under fictitious names across various banks in Gwalior, Morena, Ratlam, and other parts of the state. Subsequently, hundreds of insurance policies were procured under the PMJJBY from different insurance companies.
The gang arranged insurance cover for multiple members of the same family, as well as for individuals sharing identical names and addresses across different insurers. The same mobile number was linked to multiple bank accounts. Similarly, multiple email IDs belonging to a single individual were used to receive fraudulent insurance payouts.
The suspects enrolled hundreds of individuals under the scheme without their knowledge or consent. These beneficiaries were unaware that insurance policies had been taken out in their names. Within one month to one year of obtaining insurance cover, insured individuals were falsely declared deceased. Fabricated death certificates were allegedly procured through local municipal bodies, and insurance companies were defrauded of crores of rupees.
In many cases, individuals who were still alive were falsely reported as deceased, allegedly with the collusion of municipal officials. Fake death certificates were issued, and claim amounts were transferred into bank accounts controlled by the syndicate.
Numerous cases have emerged in which members of the syndicate opened bank accounts in Gwalior and Morena. Once the fraudulently obtained funds were credited, the money was quickly withdrawn in cash or transferred to other accounts via ATMs located up to 400–500 km away, including in Ratlam, Sawai Madhopur (Rajasthan), and Ganganagar.
Similarly, some accounts opened in Ratlam saw withdrawals made from ATMs in Gwalior, Morena, and nearby areas. These accounts have since been frozen. There were also instances where, despite the account holder and insured individual listing a specific residential address, their death was falsely recorded as occurring in a distant location, enabling the procurement of fraudulent death certificates.
During the fraud, multiple nominees used common email IDs and mobile numbers. In several cases, claims were made by showing the deaths of two or three members of the same family within a week or a month. In nearly all cases, the cause of death was recorded as “natural”.
