Maharashtra: Six held for creating fake death-certificates to claim insurance
Six persons, including two doctors and a civic-run crematorium employee, were arrested in Thane, Maharashtra, for allegedly creating fake death certificates to claim insurance, police said today. Senior Inspector Sanju John, Thane Police's Crime Branch, identified the main accused as Kalyan-resident Chandrakant Narasimulu Shinde and said the latter had claimed at least Rs. 81 lakh from private insurance firms using such forged death certificates.
'The doctors, operating from Mumbra, have issued 13 death certificates'
"Shinde first got in touch with Tejpal Ramveer Mehrol, an employee at Mumbra civic crematorium. Mehrol managed to get fake death certificates from Abdul Mohid Siddiqui and Imran Siddiqui, two doctors operating from Mumbra," John said. "The doctors have issued 13 death certificates in this manner, including ten in the names of people who are alive and residing in Andhra Pradesh," the official said.
Shinde had managed to obtain Rs. 81L worth claims
"Shinde started this racket after he managed to obtain the life insurance payout of some relatives who were still alive. Our probe shows he obtained Rs. 81 lakh worth of claims and was in the process of filing for another Rs. 55 lakh," John said. He said two of Shinde's relatives, identified as Laxmi Shinde and her husband Narayan Shinde, have also been arrested.
A case of cheating and forgery has been registered
"Mehrol used to get Rs. 15,000 for each fake death certificate while the doctors used to get just Rs. 2,000 each. All six have been arrested. We're probing if more people, including staff from the Thane Municipal Corporation, are involved in this racket," he informed. A case of cheating and forgery has been registered against the six in Vitthalwadi police station here, he said.
