Ulhasnagar: Three arrested for duping policyholder of Rs 12 lakh

Three of the accused were arrested by police and are currently in police custody. Pic/ Navneet Barhate

The Central Police (Ulhasnagar) have arrested the branch manager and 2 others for swindling a policyholder of Rs 12 lakh on the pretext of updating his KYC (Know Your Customer) details. The accused had allegedly caused a loss of Rs 46.61 lakh in total to the policyholder. One of the accused posed as the 18-year-old son of the accused and had signed the documents while making new policies.

Asan Balani, a 47-year-old hospitality professional, and his wife bought a policy on behalf of their child in 2010. The yearly premium of the policy is Rs one lakh and it was to mature in 2030, yielding Rs 46.61 lakh in returns. As the child had turned 18 recently, the policy had been transferred to the youngsters' name.

In March 2022, the relationship manager, Meenu Jha, visited Balani's residence and took a photo of his wife on the pretext of updating KYC details. She also asked her to reveal an OTP, claiming it was required in order to update her mobile number. On learning about this, Balani called Jha and questioned her. The accused not only allegedly lied to him but also asked him to cancel his policy - claiming it was no longer beneficial - and to buy a new one, which Balani refused to do.

A few days later, Balani was shocked to discover that the policyholder's name had been changed to Meenu Jha. The mobile number linked to the policy had also been allegedly switched by the accused. Also, the signatures have been made by someone claiming to be his son Neeraj. When Balani complained to the company, he learned that his policy had been cancelled and the Rs 12 lakh paid by him since 2010 had been transferred to two different policyholders.

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"Jha, with the help of two others, allegedly changed the mobile number in the system and used forged documents and signatures to change the policyholder's name. After this, the premium was claimed and two new policies were purchased by Jha in the name of some other person," said an official from the Central police station.

Jha purchased two policies with a yearly premium of Rs4 lakh each. Also, she earned 20 per cent above the policy as a commission. When Balani came to know he had been duped by his own relationship manager, he rushed to the Central police station and filed a complaint.

Cops had booked three persons under Indian Penal Code sections 419 (cheating by personation) 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (using forged document as genuine) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) along with sections of IT Act. Senior Inspector Madhukar Kad had directed Inspector Suhas Awhad to probe the matter.

"During the investigation, we found that Meenu Jha who is an employee of the insurance company has taken the help of Vikas Gond (25) and Anuj Madhavi (30) for forging the documents and signing it as the son of Asan Balani's son," told an officer privy to the investigation. "As an offence was registered, the accused were trying to evade arrest and after trying to hide for over a month, they all surrendered to police" added the officer.

Three of the accused were arrested by police and are currently in police custody. "We are questioning the accused and have also sought their bank statements to find out whether they have cheated any more customers like this and swindled money. It was the alertness of the complainant that he rushed to the police station immediately after getting suspicion and registering the complaint. We request citizens not to share their KYC or OTP with anyone whether it be Debit card or policy" said Senior Inspector of Central police station Madhukar Kad.