New Delhi, August 18
The Delhi Police have arrested three people for allegedly running fake websites in the name of ‘Pradhan Mantri Shishu Vikas Yojana’ and registering over 15,000 people through a large network of agents running up to panchayat level.
Police said the accused have been identified as Neeraj Pandey, Suvender Yadav, both residents of Patna in Bihar, and Adarsh Yadav from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.
According to police, a case was registered on the complaint of the Director of National Health Authority who alleged that a fake website — www.pmsvy-cloud.in—has floated a forged scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Shishu Vikas Yojna’ and was taking money from people in the name of registration and children insurance etc.
“During investigation, the police arrested Neeraj and Adarsh from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. They have enrolled over 15,000 people under this fake scheme,” said Anyesh Roy, the Cyber Crime Department’s Deputy Commissioner of Police.
Neeraj revealed that another website was being run by Suvender Yadav of Patna in the name of ‘PM Shishu Vikas Yojana’.
On Neeraj’s instance, the police conducted a raid in Patna and arrested Suvender, the DCP said.
These website operators had formulated a scheme in the name of PM Shishu Vikas Yojana and offered what they called were health insurance cover and financial support for education, Roy said.
For getting maximum number of children enrolled, they appointed state heads across the country India and each state head further employed district heads in their respective states.
These district heads appointed ground level agents who worked at gram panchayat level and conducted meetings at village or tehsil levels to lure the local people, police said, adding that further investigation is underway.
The Press Information Bureau had earlier this year ran a fact-check on the claim that there was a government scheme under the name ‘Pradhan Mantri Shishu Vikas Yojana’.
“Claim: – Govt. School students to get various monetary benefits under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Shishu Vikas Yojana’. Reality: This is a #FakeNews. There is NO “Pradhan Mantri Shishu Vikas Yojana” under the Central Government,” the PIB Fact Check had tweeted on January 30. PTI
Unlock Exclusive Insights with The Tribune Premium
Take your experience further with Premium access.
Thought-provoking Opinions, Expert Analysis, In-depth Insights and other Member Only Benefits
Already a Member? Sign In Now