A major fake insurance racket involving school and college vehicles has been exposed in Udupi district, leading to the arrest of two former employees of an insurance company. The scam came to light following a collision between a school vehicle and an autorickshaw on November 25, 2024, at Hunshemakki, Hombady–Mandady village in Kundapur taluk. A case was registered at Kota Police Station soon after.
According to SP Hariram Shankar, investigations revealed that the insurance policy for the school bus involved in the accident was forged. The accused fabricated the insurance documents and submitted them to the police and courts, defrauding the insurance company. A chargesheet has been filed before the ACJ (JD) and JMFC Court in Kundapur, and the case is currently under trial.
The rickshaw driver, Uday Shetty, has filed a Motor Vehicle Compensation Case demanding Rs 15.95 lakh in compensation, pending before the Kundapur Sessions Court.
Following a complaint lodged by Nikhil G.R., manager of the insurance company, a special investigation team led by CPI Brahmhavar Gopi Krishna and supervised by PSI Praveen Kumar R. was formed. On September 6, the team arrested 33-year-old Rakesh S from Brahmavar Taluk. During interrogation, Rakesh confessed to colluding with Charan Babu Mesta, a former SDO at the insurance company, to cheat multiple schools and colleges across Kundapur, Kota, Brahmavar, Shiroor, and Bhatkal by creating fake insurance policies while collecting premiums as if genuine.
Charan Babu Mesta was arrested on October 3 and remains in police custody for further investigation. Both accused used stored PDF files of old insurance policies and edited details such as policy numbers, dates, vehicle numbers, and amounts using PDF editor apps to create fake policies. These were then supplied to educational institutions as legitimate.
Preliminary investigations show that together they created around 86 policies, of which 29 were fake, and the second accused alone created 111 policies, including 17 fakes. In total, 46 fake insurance policies were circulated among schools and colleges across Bhatkal (Uttara Kannada District), Kundapur, and Kota Police Station limits in Udupi District.
