Four individuals, including two insurance agents, were arrested by the crime branch police on Tuesday for their involvement in a fraudulent insurance scam. The accused are believed to have exploited a loophole in the ICICI Lombard General Insurance mobile application by registering car insurance policies under two-wheeler plans. This allowed them to charge customers higher premiums intended for cars while issuing policies meant for two-wheelers, with the difference in premiums being pocketed by the fraudsters.
The four arrested individuals have been identified as Vikas Kashyap (37) and Akash Sisodia (25), both residents of Kotwali Nagar, and Yakub (35) and Aarim Ali (22), residents of Civil Lines. The arrests were made after a complaint was lodged by Sanjay Thakur, vice-president of ICICI Lombard General Insurance, on March 8.
The fraud was uncovered when the insurance company received a claim request for a policy, only to find out that the vehicle registered under the policy was a car, not a two-wheeler. Upon investigation, it was revealed that the accused had exploited a loophole in the company’s mobile app, enabling them to create fraudulent policies.
During interrogation, Kashyap, one of the insurance agents, admitted that the fraud involved third-party insurance claims, which do not require court submission and often avoid scrutiny. The accused are believed to have registered approximately 12,000 fraudulent insurance policies over the past year, pocketing Rs 12,000-Rs 14,000 for every policy. The total amount defrauded could be significant, as investigators continue to probe the case.
The police are also looking into possible connections with Regional Transport Office (RTO) officials in Karnataka to determine if they were involved in facilitating the fraud.
