92-Year-Old Retired Doctor Duped of Rs 21 Lakh in Insurance Fraud

Hyderabad: In a recent financial fraud case, a 92-year-old retired doctor residing in the upscale Banjara Hills area of Hyderabad has reportedly been cheated of Rs 21 lakh by an insurance agent. The agent is accused of forging her signature on stolen cheques to carry out the fraud.  

The elderly doc is a former superintendent of Niloufer Hospital and the widow of a Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Army. Though retired for several years, she remains active and resides alone in her Banjara Hills home while her children live abroad in the UK.

According to her complaint, the accused visited her residence under the pretext of an agent from Reliance Nippon Life Insurance. Claiming to assist with policy renewals, he presented professional-looking credentials, including an ID card and business card bearing the company’s insignia.

He allegedly requested payment for insurance renewals and asked for a cancelled cheque, claiming it was necessary for the deposit of policy maturity amounts. The doctor, believing him to be a legitimate agent, complied.

The fraud began to unravel when she discovered, through her bank statements, that 11 cheques had been fraudulently used without her knowledge across two of her savings accounts. A closer review revealed that approximately Rs 32 lakh had been withdrawn without her consent.

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Speaking to TNIE, her office manager said that the agent visited the house multiple times and would frequently ask to use her phone, citing reasons such as entering OTPs. Although the cheques did not bear her signature, the agent reportedly managed to withdraw funds in repeated transactions.

Following the scam, the doctor lodged a complaint with the Banjara Hills police. According to TOI, Banjara Hills police registered a case under BNS sections 336 (3) (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 316(2) (punishment for criminal breach of trust), and 318(4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property).

Upon confrontation, the 39-year-old accused initially denied wrongdoing but eventually confessed to misappropriating the funds. He reportedly assured the doctor that he would return the money in instalments. While he has returned approximately Rs 11 lakh so far, he has since gone unresponsive and has not made any payments in the last three months. 

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Speaking to TNIE, Banjara Hills police said that Veeranna had transferred small amounts into multiple accounts before consolidating them into his own. They believe that a portion of the funds may have been used to purchase land, while the rest appears to have been spent.