Mahoba Crop Insurance Scam: Seven Arrested, CSC Operator Held

Mahoba Crop Insurance Scam: Seven Arrested, CSC Operator Among Accused

Mahoba police have arrested seven more individuals, including a Common Service Centre (CSC) operator, in connection with a multi-crore crop insurance scam under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. Investigators allege that the accused used falsified documents to file insurance claims on non-cultivable land such as ponds, rivers, forest areas, hills, barren plots and chakkar paths.

With the latest arrests, the total number of people taken into custody in the district has reached 30. Police say the scam involves approximately ₹40 crore in fraudulent crop insurance claims linked to the Kharif season of 2024.

According to officials, the arrests were made by a special team from Charikari police station near Ratan Sagar Talab. Those taken into custody include Kamlkishor of Nirtara village, Rajendra Kumar of Luhari, Satyendra Kumar Rajput, Kamlesh Kumar, Saksham of Nirtara, Ramswaroop of Bara Srinagar and Asharam of Govind Nagar in Kulpahar.

Police allege that the accused submitted forged land records through the PMFBY portal to illegitimately claim government benefits. Many of the applications were routed via Common Service Centres, which are meant to assist citizens in accessing government schemes but were allegedly misused in this case.

A day earlier, Mahoba police had arrested Nikhil Chaturvedi, the district manager of the insurance company involved, along with four other accused. Investigators say the involvement of company officials allowed claims to be approved without adequate verification, significantly amplifying the scale of the fraud.

According to the investigation, claims were raised on land that was never used for agriculture, including rivers, ponds, hills, forest land and other government-owned or uncultivable areas. In several cases, fraudulent payouts ran into lakhs of rupees per claim, eventually accumulating into crores.

Deputy Director of Agriculture Ramsjivan had earlier filed complaints at Mahoba police station in August against the district manager and unknown persons. Additional FIRs were subsequently registered at Panwari, Charikari, Ajner and Kulpahar police stations, covering 26 named accused and several unidentified individuals.

Officials said the case exposes serious vulnerabilities in the crop insurance verification process, particularly where land records, CSC submissions and insurance approvals intersect. Investigations are continuing to identify remaining beneficiaries, recover misappropriated funds and determine accountability within the system.

Experts note that welfare schemes become especially vulnerable when land records and claim data are not reconciled at every stage. Clear documentation trails and disciplined reconciliation practices - similar to those followed in professional bookkeeping services in india are often critical in detecting inflated or duplicate claims before public funds are released.