HC order helps bust fake accidents scam - Times of India

HC order helps bust fake accidents scam

427 Who Made Bogus Insurance Claims Withdraw Cases; Firm Richer By Over Rs 18 Crore

A Subramani TNN

Chennai: A Madras high court order, directing the Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate bogus insurance claims filed by fraudsters who claimed to be motor accident victims, has yielded results. The deterrent effect is such that the Coimbatore region of the National Insurance Company Limited has become richer by over Rs 18.49 crore, because 427 bogus insurance claims were withdrawn from various courts. Interestingly, more than 40 cases were withdrawn despite the fact that claims in these cases had been awarded by courts. “If these are the figures for one region of one insurance company, imagine the magnitude of the scam and the amount involved,” said N Vijayaraghavan, counsel for National Insurance. “Today, the number of FIRs filed in connection with road accidents has come down, and crores of rupees in public money have been saved,” he said. In March 2006, the court had directed the CBI to investigate complaints from various insurance companies relating to the use of fake FIRs given by different police stations. In July 2006, the CBI informed the court that more than 1,100 cases of fraudulent insurance claims and fake FIRs had been unearthed, and that it would be impossible for the central agency to investigate all the cases in view of the gravity of the offences and shortage of manpower and infrastructure. The court then handed over a first batch of 20 cases to the CBI for investigation. In its status report, the agency informed the court that 15 cases involved fraudulent claims and that chargesheets had been filed against advocates, insurance company personnel and police officials for collusion. The other five cases were dropped for want of evidence, said CBI counsel N Chandrasekharan. On its part, the insurance firm gave region-wise details of 427 bogus accident claims that were withdrawn after the CBI entered the scene. Recording the statement, the first bench comprising chief justice A P Shah and justice Prabha Sridevan said, “It is clear that the order passed by this court has definitely been a deterrent to fraudulent litigation. We also feel that there has been an increased awareness amongst the general public in this regard.” STAGE A MISHAP, MAKE A FAST BUCK Fraudsters look for people injured in an accident where no other vehicle is involved They bring such people along with a vehicle and its ‘driver’ to lodge a complaint With police collusion, an FIR is registered Chargesheet is filed against ‘driver’ and description of ‘offender vehicle’ is made When the court takes up the case, the ‘driver’ pleads guilty, pays fine upto Rs 2,000 and walks free Court awards compensation to ‘victim’