The Asomiya Yuva Mancha on Sunday demanded a high-level inquiry into an alleged insurance scam in Barpeta district in lower Assam.

Assam police have arrested 17 persons related to the scam, involving Rs 500 crore, on the basis of a PIL filed by the Mancha in July 2018. The accused individuals had collected money from insurance companies like ICICI and Bajaj Allianz by presenting bogus documents.

Mancha secretary general Jitul Deka on Sunday alleged, “The police have arrested several persons in this scam but that is not enough. A huge group is involved in the scam and the police have failed to investigate it properly.”

“A wide network, including banks, insurance agents and police officers, are involved in the scam. It has come to light that a doctor provided fake death certificates and post-mortem reports to these agents. Several insurance companies were duped in the name of one dead person, with his or her spouse receiving the money as a nominee and the other scamsters getting their share of the spoils. Even the investigating officials of the insurance companies were in the know and got their payoffs. It is believed that now the scam has spread to Guwahati, Nagaon and Dhubri,” he added.

“Recently, we came across information related to fraud insurance claims under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana. Safur Ali, a resident of Bheraldi in Barpeta district withdrew money by submitting bogus documents of his wife’s death but it seems she is still alive. There are many such cases in Assam,” he said.

“If we can collect this information why can’t Assam police do the same. We demand the government take it seriously and hand over the investigation to the CBI,” he said.