A pension fraud case out of Jaipur has taken a strange turn, with police alleging that a son hid his mother's death for three years just to keep her pension flowing, allegedly with help from his girlfriend and a bank manager.
How the fraud came to light
Officers at the Jawahar Nagar police station said the pension account in question was held in the name of Shanti Devi at the State Bank of India's Raja Park branch. The case unravelled when the bank, during a routine audit of its pension accounts, grew suspicious about her account and sought her death certificate from the municipal corporation. That certificate showed Shanti Devi had died on 2 May 2021, meaning pension credits had continued flowing into her account for nearly three years after her death. The municipal corporation had actually issued her death certificate within six days of her passing, but her family never passed that information on to the bank, even though doing so was mandatory in order to stop the pension.
Fake documents kept a dead woman 'alive' on paper
Investigators say the scheme was not run by the son alone. Shanti Devi's son, Lalchand, allegedly worked with his girlfriend, Khushbu Dixit, who also goes by the name Neha, and the branch's then manager, Siraj Ahmed Qureshi, to pull it off. Police allege the three prepared forged life certificates and other paperwork showing Shanti Devi as still alive and submitted them to the bank branch. Because of these fake documents, the municipal corporation kept releasing her pension into the account without anyone raising an alarm for a long time.
Rs 6.30 lakh withdrawn, and the manager took his own cut
Police said the pension credited to the account was withdrawn repeatedly through ATMs and other channels, adding up to roughly Rs 6.30 lakh over about three years. The investigation also turned up a separate twist involving the branch manager. Siraj Ahmed Qureshi is accused of misusing his position, and police say he forged the dead woman's signature and transferred Rs 73,500 directly into his own bank account across three separate transactions. Once the bank's internal departmental inquiry established his role, his retirement was halted and he was suspended.
Bank's complaint leads to case, all three arrested
After completing its internal review, the bank's management filed a complaint at the Jawahar Nagar police station in January 2024. Based on that complaint, a case was registered under sections covering fraud, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy. Following a lengthy investigation, police arrested Lalchand, his girlfriend Khushbu Dixit alias Neha, and the then bank manager Siraj Ahmed Qureshi. All three have since been sent to judicial custody, and police are now examining whether anyone else played a role in preparing the fake documents.
