Gang held for fraudulent insurance claims of terminally ill patients

The special task force (STF) of Gurugram busted a gang that was allegedly involved in fraudulent life insurance claims of terminally ill patients and projecting their deaths as road accidents, the police said on Wednesday

The special task force (STF) of Gurugram busted a gang that was allegedly involved in fraudulent life insurance claims of terminally ill patients and projecting their deaths as road accidents, the police said on Wednesday. The gang used to target cancer patients and involved their family members to get their insurance policies done.

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Virender Vij, the superintendent of police, STF headquarters, Gururgam, said that the gang members, in connivance with family members of the patients, got the insurance policies done from various companies and after their death, claimed the insurance, estimated to be more than ₹60 lakh so far. “They used to show the deaths as accidental road deaths. They conspired with other accused and committed at least 281 offences by portraying natural deaths as accidental deaths,” he said.

The police on Tuesday arrested the kingpin of the gang, identified as Salim, of Narwana in Jind, from Karnal. His close associates, Sunil, of Hisar living in Hansi, and Manoj of Kaithal, living in Janakpuri of Delhi, are yet to be arrested.

Vij said they have recovered ₹66.87 lakh, 53 ATM cards, 41 cheque books, 38 OPD cards, 40 policy papers, 14 passbooks, four mobile phones and 66 new kits of different banks from Salim’s possession.

They used to select cancer patients undergoing treatment at Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) in Rohtak and convinced their family members to make a quick buck. The gang would buy term insurance policies from eight companies by paying a premium on their behalf, the police said. “After the death of policyholders, the suspects used to portray it as accidental deaths to claim insurance amounts,” Vij said.

The police discovered the modus operandi after an official at an insurance company in Delhi had found foul play in a policy. A deputy manager of a general insurance company in Delhi last November, during an internal investigation, found that a man, identified as Satyanarayan of Khanda Kheri in Hisar, died due to cancer but his family had stated that he died after falling from a bullock cart and suffering severe head injuries on December 10, 2017.

He further alleged that the family had taken an insurance policy in October 2017 for ₹20 lakh and claimed the money after his death. He pointed out in the complaint that it was a nexus.

When the police took up the investigation, they ascertained from medical reports and post-mortem examination reports that the cause of death was due to cancer.

Three family members of the policyholder who died were arrested last December. “They revealed during questioning that suspects had contacted them and offered them money to get the insurance done,” said Vij.

The police said they are also probing the role of others, including insurance company inquiry officers, doctors, advocates, police officials, agents and bank officials.