Kathmandu. In the US, a living person was declared dead on paper in order to get a life insurance claim of about Rs 10 crore. A fake crematorium receipt was also prepared to prove the story of the death. However, no record of the funeral was found. After the complaint of the insurance investigation agency, the municipal corporation has now started an investigation into the matter.
According to the information received, a family from Dehradun, India, has been living in the US for the last 8 years. One of the family members had a life insurance of about Rs 10 crore there. The family returned to their Dehradun home in February to attend a program. After this, an application was filed with the municipal corporation for a death certificate. In which it was mentioned that the person died on March 21.
Officials from Diligence International, the Indian agency of the American insurance company that investigated the case, approached the municipal corporation about a week ago and lodged a complaint. According to the agency, the death of the person who was issued the death certificate could not be confirmed. No details of the funeral were found in the records of the Chandrabani crematorium.
The investigation of the municipal corporation has also found the funeral receipt involved in the application to be suspicious. It is alleged that it was prepared to look like the actual receipt received from the Chandrabani crematorium. The application for the death certificate included the prescribed form of the corporation and the necessary documents including the Aadhaar card of the deceased and the applicant.
Following the suspicious circumstances, a notice was issued to the applicant on the instructions of Chief Municipal Health Officer Dr Anand Shukla requesting for a written reply within a week. If the reply is not satisfactory, an FIR will be registered.
The municipal corporation is now further tightening the process of issuing birth and death certificates. It has been decided to implement an online fee payment system. Officials said that cases of fake certificates have been reported in Doon in the past. After investigation, such certificates were canceled.
According to the rules of the municipal corporation, if an application for a certificate is made within 21 days of the death, then copies of the funeral receipt and Aadhaar card of the deceased and the applicant should be submitted. After 21 days, along with the application, the affidavit and death declaration certificate will have to be submitted. After one year, the certification of all the documents at the SDM level is also required for the certificate. – Agency
