Jaipur: The probe into the alleged multi-crore crop-insurance racket in Nagaur widened Saturday, with Special Operations Group (SOG) and Nagaur Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) questioning 12 suspects for nearly six hours as investigators sought to unravel the alleged network.SOG and SIT also searched three locations linked to the suspects and scrutinised documents and digital evidence recovered during the searches.A senior SOG official reached Nagaur Friday and held a meeting with local police and SIT officials overseeing the investigation.The probe has also brought some agriculture department officials under the scanner.Officials familiar with the investigation said they were examining whether anyone involved in the department’s processes helped the alleged gang access farmers’ land records or facilitate fraudulent crop-insurance claims.According to police, the accused allegedly obtained farmers’ khasra numbers and other personal details, forged insurance forms and identity documents and used them to take crop-insurance policies in other names. They allegedly manipulated online records and then raised claims through the insurance helpline. Since physical verification was not required for certain landholdings of less than 10 hectares, the accused allegedly managed to get the claims processed and withdraw the money after it was transferred through direct benefit transfer (DBT).Police are examining the records of farmers whose names and khasra details allegedly figured in the fraudulent claims. Investigators are also checking bank accounts and other financial records to trace the movement of the insurance payouts.The probe follows the arrest of four alleged gang members by Nagaur Police and the registration of four FIRs at Panchodi police station. Police have recovered forged insurance forms, Aadhaar cards, bank passbooks and Rs 3 lakh in cash.Investigators suspect the racket may have been operating for several years and are examining whether the network extended beyond Nagaur. They are also probing the role of insurance agents, stamp vendors, notaries and other intermediaries, besides determining the possible involvement of officials and the full extent of the alleged fraud.
