Over 100 in dock over crop insurance scam in Bhiwani

Deepender Deswal

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Hisar, January 25

The ongoing investigation into the alleged fraud in cotton insurance under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) has landed over 100 persons in trouble. They include farmers of Rohnat village in Bhiwani district and officials of the various agencies.

Case under lens

A woman farmer showed cotton cultivation on 12 acres taken on lease from another farmer. The woman farmer (now an accused in the case) paid premium for cotton crop insurance and then received claim for crop damage. During the probe, the actual landowner denied that he had ever given his 12 acres on lease to the woman

Two persons, Sitaram and Vishal, of the village have been arrested in connection with the case. Police sources said about Rs 4 crore have been fraudulently claimed by the village farmers by showing cotton cultivation in fields that were neither owned by the people who claimed insurance cover nor had cotton crop in those fields.

Investigating officer Radhe Shyam told The Tribune that about 100 persons were involved in the scam. “We have arrested two persons,” he said.

The matter came to light when the CM’s Flying Squad inquired into it on the basis of a tip-off by a local resident in September. Following a preliminary inquiry by the squad, an FIR was registered at the Bawani Khera police station against five persons who had reportedly got several lakhs as insurance claim for cotton crop damage during the kharif season 2021.

Further probe revealed that a scam to the tune of Rs 4 crore and over 70-80 people, including men and women, mostly belonging to about 15 families and other people belonging to the concerned agencies were involved in it.

The police sources said the beneficiaries had claimed insurance cover for damaged cotton crop that they never sowed. The sources said the scam could not have taken place without involvement of people from insurance sanctioning agencies such as the insurance firm, Haryana Agriculture Department and Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS).

Under the modus operandi, the accused people had got cotton crops cultivated on land taken on lease by them insured. The accused had submitted an affidavit to the insurance firm mentioning names of original owners of the land and showed themselves as tenants. The inquiry revealed that most of these people had paid premium to the insurance firm through PACS in Bhojawas village of Mahendergarh district.