2 LIC agents pocket Rs 1.52 cr claim of 39 policyholders
The accused processed insurance claims by falsely declaring policyholders as deceased and submitting fabricated death certificates to obtain the insured amounts
Two Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) agents have been booked for allegedly siphoning off Rs 1.52 crore by submitting fake death certificates for 39 policyholders who are still alive, police said.
The accused, identified as agents working in Ashwapuram mandal of Bhadradri Kothagudem district, allegedly processed insurance claims by falsely declaring policyholders as deceased and submitting fabricated death certificates to obtain the insured amounts.
According to officials, suspicions arose after an unusually high number of death claims were reported from a single mandal under the Bhadrachalam LIC division. The matter was reported to higher authorities of the Life Insurance Corporation of India, who constituted a two-member internal inquiry committee. During the internal probe, officials reportedly verified documents and cross-checked records, uncovering discrepancies in as many as 39 policies. The inquiry found that claims had been settled based on death certificates even though the policyholders were alive.
Following the committee’s report, senior officials brought the matter to the notice of state police authorities. Based on a written complaint lodged by the branch manager of the Bhadrachalam LIC office, a case has been registered against the two agents, and an investigation is underway, police said.
Officials are also probing how the accused managed to procure or fabricate death certificates in the names of living individuals, suspecting possible collusion.
Sources said one of the accused has been working as an LIC agent for nearly three decades and allegedly used his experience and local network to carry out the fraud across villages including Ashwapuram, Nellipaka and Seetharampuram.
The case comes close on the heels of another shocking incident in the region last month, where two persons allegedly attempted to murder a youth after taking an insurance policy worth Rs 2 crore in his name. In that case, two accused befriended a man from a village in the region and purchased a policy naming one of them as nominee. They allegedly tried to kill him and pass it off as an accident to claim the insurance amount. However, passersby noticed the injured man and alerted the police, leading to his rescue. The two accused were later arrested. Police said further investigation is in progress in both cases.
